KATHMANDU, July 9: As the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2024/25 nears its end, electronic payments within Nepal have seen a sharp rise, particularly in the final months. This trend is consistent with previous years, where government disbursements, public payments, and development-related transactions peak toward year-end.
According to the latest 11-month data released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), from Shrawan to the end of Jestha (mid-July to mid-May), electronic payments totaling Rs 864 trillion were processed across various platforms. Of this, Rs 83.24 trillion worth of payments occurred in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June) alone.
In contrast, electronic payments stood at Rs 81.76 trillion in Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May) and Rs 67.98 trillion in Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April), indicating Jestha had the highest monthly total of the fiscal year.
The Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system accounted for the largest share of payments in Jestha, totaling Rs 62.49 trillion—Rs 1.4 trillion higher than Baisakh. Over the 11-month period, RTGS payments reached Rs 656.90 trillion.
The second highest payment system was Electronic Cheque Clearance (ECC), with Rs 520 billion paid in Jestha alone and Rs 5.5 trillion over 11 months. Faster Payment System processed Rs 472 billion during the same period, while Mobile Banking facilitated Rs 456 billion. Similarly, Rs 257 billion was paid via Interbank Payment System (IPS), and QR payments totaled Rs 93 billion.
While large transaction systems such as RTGS, ECC, and IPS saw growth in Jestha, smaller transaction platforms experienced a decline compared to Baisakh.
The government had set an expenditure target of Rs 1.86 trillion for the fiscal year. So far, only Rs 1.466 trillion—78.84 percent of the total—has been spent. This means nearly Rs 400 billion must be disbursed in the remaining five days, which explains the year-end rush in payments.