In the near future, financial transactions can be done from the SIM card distributed by Nepal Telecom. Nepal Telecom is preparing to operate mobile finance service by providing financial transactions from mobile (from Telecom’s SIM card).
The Digital Payment Company, a subsidiary of Nepal Telecom, has sought permission from Nepal Rastra Bank to operate mobile money services. The telco had submitted the application in the last week of December last year. According to Telecom’s request, NRB officials have already monitored the first phase.
Krishna Prasad Bhandari, chief executive officer of the digital payment company, said that the service has not been approved despite the monitoring of the physical infrastructure and equipment prepared by the NRB to operate the mobile money. According to him, goods and services can be purchased from the balance in the mobile number provided by the telco to the service recipients after getting permission from the National Bank.
According to him, the customers of the telco will be able to load money from the recharge card for the operation of mobile money service. “There are two options when recharging on mobile, whether it is for mobile money service or for SIM card. Customers can recharge as per their requirement,” he said.
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had last July issued a license to the payment service provider to start mobile money service within six months. Telecom had set up a digital payment company as a subsidiary after getting permission from the payment service provider company from the National Bank.
The Digital Payment Company is a joint venture of Nepal Telecom and Rastriya Banijya Bank.
