KATHMANDU: Nepal Rastra Bank, which previously adopted a flexible policy to promote electronic payments via mobile wallets, is now tightening regulations due to increasing transaction risks.

"Nepal Rastra Bank had increased transaction limit for wallet companies and concessions were also given for remittance payments in order to encourage electronic payments. But these facilities were misused and therefore we decided to review the facilities given so far," said an official of Nepal Rastra Bank’s Payment System Department.

Following investigations by the police, the central bank is analyzing wallet company transactions and plans to address issues in the next fiscal year's monetary policy. The Central Investigation Department (CIB) of Nepal Police found that electronic wallets were used for illegal payments during a gold smuggling investigation.

Currently, the central bank has set a limit of Rs 200, 000 per day and Rs 1 million per month for mobile wallet transactions. However, wallet companies have arrangements with remittance companies allowing money from abroad to be deposited in electronic wallets in Nepal, beyond these limits.

Police investigations revealed that wallet companies Paywell and Easy Pay facilitated illegal payments under the guise of remittance transactions. These companies reportedly received remittances from Send Money Nepal and Namaste Remittance in Australia, using wallets for payments without central bank’s approval. The investigation found that the money originated from Hundi operations.

Additionally, it was discovered that wallet companies issued more e-money than their bank account balances and provided inaccurate daily transaction details to Nepal Rastra Bank. Currently, nine payment system operators and 26 payment service providers operate under the central bank's regulations. Furthermore, 20 commercial banks, 16 development banks, 15 finance companies, and seven microfinance institutions have permission to operate electronic payment services.

The central bank's monitoring last year revealed that wallet company agents withdrew more money than allowed and failed to maintain up-to-date customer records. The annual monitoring report from the Payment System Department highlighted that payment system operators (PSOs) and payment service providers (PSPs) lack adequate physical and technical infrastructure and exhibit poor governance. The department conducted on-site monitoring of three PSOs and 12 PSPs last fiscal year. Additionally, 6 PSOs and 21 PSPs were monitored off-site. The central bank has taken corrective actions against companies that performed unsatisfactorily during monitoring.