Nepal Clearing House Announces Readiness of NPS-NCS and NEPALPAY Card

Nepal Clearing House Ltd. (NCHL) officially announced the readiness of the NPS-National Card Switch (NPS-NCS) and NEPALPAY Card as Nepal's domestic card scheme. The event, attended by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari and key financial stakeholders, marked a major milestone in Nepal’s digital payment infrastructure.

With final approval from NRB, the NEPALPAY Card was unveiled, and a ceremonial transaction was conducted using the card at Himalayan Bank, Machhapuchhre Bank, and Siddhartha Bank. The NPS infrastructure includes National Card Switch, centralized settlement & dispute management system, AI/ML-based fraud detection, and a cross-border interface (NPIx).

Multiple banks signed agreements for NEPALPAY Card issuance and interoperability, reducing dependency on foreign card networks while ensuring data localization and innovation. The EMV chip-based NEPALPAY Card will be accepted at ATMs, POS terminals, and later in e-commerce and virtual transactions.

NCHL, which processes over NRs 15.5 trillion annually, continues to expand Nepal’s digital payment ecosystem by integrating 54+ banks and financial institutions, payment system operators, and service providers.