August 15: The Nepal Rastra Bank is planning to set up a national payment switch in a bid to promote a cashless transaction.

Unveiling the monetary policy on Friday, the central bank said it aims to observe the fiscal year 2022/23 as the year of promotion of electronic payment and transaction.  To achieve this goal, the central bank is doing the needful for infrastructural development and creating awareness in the current fiscal year.    
The policy has emphasised the use of country's own payment card while establishing interconnectivity among electronic payment gateways and clearing and recording digital payment gateways.    
Special re-loans would be provided to payment service provider or payment system operators and communication service providers for the development and promotion of the whole electronic payment system, the central bank said. 

The central bank will make necessary arrangements for facilitating the payment of revenue and all sorts of payments through banking and digital system. Arrangements will be made for beneficiaries entitled to social security allowances to receive the allowances digitally from the banks dealing with government transactions.    
The deadline for payment service providers and payment system operators to meet minimum transactions and number of customers has been extended until mid-July, 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19. Similarly, a digital loan guideline will be prepared and implemented for facilitating banks and financial institutions to provide their services like loan application and approval digitally.    
The policy aims to carry out a feasibility study of digital currencies in the country in the context when many foreign countries have adopted it.

Arrangements would be made for anyone to apply for citizens saving bonds and foreign employment bonds digitally and a necessary study of the use of cloud infrastructure would be carried out. -- RSS