RuPay Launches In Nepal: 4th Country To Adopt RuPay After Bhutan, Singapore, UAE

Now, Nepal has also joined the league as on Saturday it became the fourth foreign country to operationalize the RuPay card.

RuPay Card In Nepal

On this occasion, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba jointly launched the Indian electronic payment system in the Himalayan nation.

Besides Nepal, the three other countries where the RuPay card operates includes Bhutan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

After holding talks covering wide-ranging issues including cooperation in areas of trade, investment and energy, finally the  card was launched by the two leaders on April 2.

How Does This Help?

While talking on the subject, Modi said, ”Introduction of RuPay card in Nepal will add a new chapter to our financial connectivity,” in his media statement after the talks.

Basically, the launch of the card in Nepal would open new vistas for cooperation in financial connectivity, said the Ministry of External Affairs.

Further, the move is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages.

First Time the RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 as part of the Reserve Bank of India’s vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments.

The Nepal SBI Bank (NSBL), a subsidiary of SBI and Nepal’s largest international bank, worked on the initiative for over a year with support from Nepal’s Central Bank, said the people known to  the development. 

Further adding that the launch of the card in Nepal will forge a new path to financial convenience and empowerment with the use of technology and innovation. 

According to them, this will not only open paths for the payment for RuPay card holders but will also uplift Nepal’s payment ecosystem capabilities.

Pact For Renewal Of MoU

Apart from this, Nepal and India also inked a pact for the renewal of an MoU for the supply of petroleum products for a period of five years between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd (NOC), after the Modi-Deuba talks.

Before this, both countries had signed an agreement on March 27, 2017, which expired on March 31. 

This renewed agreement will remain valid for a period of five years.

Basically, this agreement is in the form of an umbrella pact enabling IOCL to supply petroleum products to NOC, including through the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline which was commissioned in July 2019.

In another agreement, both parties have agreed for the sharing of technical expertise between IOCL and NOC.