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Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has increased the daily limit in digital transactions that are done using mobile applications, QR scans, and internet banking. Issuing an Integrated Directive on the Payment System, the central bank has said that daily transactions up to Rs 300,000 can be done through mobile applications and QR scans. Earlier, the limit was Rs 200,000. Similarly, the central bank has also increased the limit of transactions through e-wallets. Now, daily Rs 200,000 can be transferred from the bank account to the wallet. Earlier, the limit was only up to Rs 100,000. As per the new provision, one can transfer Rs 1 million from the bank account to the wallet monthly. However, the daily limit for transferring money from one wallet to another has been fixed at Rs 50,000 from earlier Rs 100,000. The central bank has also allowed payment service providers to deposit money from abroad to a wallet operated in Nepal by entering an agreement with a licensed remittance company. As per the new provision, the service providers are allowed to charge a service fee of up to a maximum of Rs 10 per transaction when transferring electronic money (inter-bank fund transfer) through the mobile app or internet banking. Earlier, this fee ranges from Rs 10-30 depending on the amount. The central bank has also reduced the fee for withdrawing cash from an ATM of another bank. Earlier, while withdrawing money from an ATM of another bank, a fee of Rs 20 was charged per transaction. Now, only Rs 15 can be charged for such withdrawal. The central bank has barred remittance companies from doing domestic remittance business. Earlier, they were allowed to remit up to Rs 25000 within Nepal. The central bank, by issuing Integrated Directive on Payment System, stopped remittance companies from doing domestic transactions. According to NRB, earlier, there was no sufficient facility for payment in domestic financing transactions. Therefore, internal remitting was allowed through remittance companies. However, with new products and services being introduced in the payment system, internal remittance is not required now, said the central bank. Nepal Rastra Bank Executive Director Guru Prasad Paudel said remittance companies have been banned from doing domestic business. "Now there is no need for them to involve in domestic payments," he said.

After a long wait, Mahindra's flagship global SUV - the XUV700 has been launched in Nepal. Mahindra & Mahindra, India’s leading SUV manufacturer, launched the XUV700 in India last year, but the SUV's Nepal launch was delayed due to the import restrictions enforced by the Nepal government. Agni Incorporated Pvt. Ltd., the authorized distributor of Mahindra vehicles in Nepal launched the XUV700 on Monday amid a function held in Kathmandu. Outside of India, Nepal is the second market after South Africa where the XUV700 is being launched. In Nepal, the XUV700 is available with the gasoline engine, manual and automatic options in five and seven-seater capacities. The Mahindra XUV700 has been launched at an attractive price starting at Rs 7.4 million. The introductory price is applicable for one month from the launch with early delivery in February 2023. "The XUV700 sets a new benchmark in the premium SUV segment of Nepal. Premium features on board the SUV include a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system and cluster, a six-way powered driver seat, and class-leading music system with 12 Sony speakers," states the press statement issued by Agni Incorporated. According to the company, the latest Mahindra SUV comes up with a panoramic sunroof and dual-zone climate control. Mahindra has also achieved a major milestone with the 5-star safety rating by GNCAP for adult protection and the SUV also became the first made-in-India and owned brand to offer Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) as a safety option. Agni Incorporated has introduced three variants of the XUV700—AX3, AX5, and AX7—currently for the Nepali market. The SUV has a 2.0mStallion Turbo-petrol engine that delivers 147 kW power and 380 Nm of torque. It is coupled with a smooth-shifting 6-speed manual & automatic transmission system, offering an effortless and thrilling drive experience. The XUV700 offers best-in-class performance through multi-link suspension with a stabilizer bar and FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) technology. The XUV700 is also powered with a first-in-segment feature—‘Smart door handles’, prominent wheel haunches above the wheel arches, and LED Clear-view Headlamps. The company said that safety is one of the core pillars of the XUV700 as it comes up with 7 airbags. The SUV offers comprehensive Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) in the AX7 variant. This includes Smart Pilot Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, and Event Traffic Sign Recognition as standard. The automatic headlamps with High Beam Assist dynamically adjust the illumination of dark areas on the road, without blinding oncoming traffic. Safety is further taken care of by tire pressure monitoring systems, an additional reverse camera, an intelligent driver drowsiness detection system, and Stop and Go driving function as part of its adaptive cruise control. According to Agni Incorporated, the XUV700 will be offered from the Twin Peaks branded SUV showroom, which has been curated to provide Nepalese customers with a premium experience. Initially, the XUV700 will be offered from two Twin Peak-branded showrooms in Kathmandu. The Twin Peaks network will be expanded to five showrooms across Nepal by March 23. The new showroom has been designed to elevate the customer experience and bring in a new customer base for Mahindra. Pricing details (ex-showroom in Rs, in m)    AX3 Series

With the sharp slowdown in economic activities in the last one year, payments through electronic modes have also taken a beating in this fiscal year. From the beginning of the current fiscal year, there has been a gradual decline in electronic payment transactions every month. The latest statistics of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) show that digital payments in the country have been continuously shrinking from mid-July to mid-December on a month-over-month basis. Generally, digital payments in Nepal pick up during the festive months of October and November as consumer consumption increases during these months. However, the festive season this year was mired in the economic slowdown impacting digital payments. Also, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which took place from November 20-December 18, did not lift the consumption activities allowing sluggishness in digital payments to continue. Digital transactions in Nepal took a giant leap after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 which forced people to stay inside their homes during the lockdowns. Backed by the increasing use of smartphones, consumers were fast to adopt digital modes of payments and online shopping to buy daily essential items. The monthly digit payments reached an all-time high of Rs 6,227.648 billion in the last month of FY 2021/22. However, electronic transactions have been on a decline every month in this fiscal year. The NRB data shows digital payments worth Rs 5,688.626 billion took place in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), Rs 4,926.715 billion in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September), Rs 4,605.316 billion in Ashoj (mid-September to mid-October), Rs 3.946.194 billion in Kartik (mid-October to mid-November) and Rs 3,697.658 billion in Mangshir (mid-November to mid-December). Similarly, the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) has shrunk to Rs 2,436.541 billion in Mangshir (mid-November to mid-December) from Rs 4,349 billion in Ashar (mid-June to mid-July). Internet banking transactions stood at Rs 1,1.476 billion in Mangsir, down from Rs 15.638 billion in Ashar. In the meantime, cash withdrawals from automated teller machines (ATMs) declined to Rs 75.224 billion during the review period from Rs 79.459 billion in Ashar. Mobile banking transactions went down to Rs 160.036 billion from Rs 162.255 billion. Wallet transactions have also declined to Rs 17.730 billion from Rs 17.752 billion. However, Quick Response (QR) payments increased to Rs 19.346 billion from Rs 14.526 billion. Transactions made through the point of sales (POS) decreased to Rs 4.459 billion from Rs 5.183 billion. Digital payments were on an increasing trend till the last fiscal year. This trend has reversed in the current fiscal year. Bankers and experts point out the current economic slowdown for this. According to them, the spending capacity of consumers has been hard hit by rising inflation resulting in a decline in digital payments. According to Sanjeev Subba, CEO of Nepal Electronic Payment System (NEPS), as economic activities slowed down, the direct impacts have been seen in electronic transactions. Guru Prasad Paudel, Chief of Payment System Department at NRB says the decline in digital payments is a reflection of the contraction in economic activities. "While we directly cannot say digital transactions are on the decline, the slowdown in economic activities, the prolonged liquidity crunch, and other problems have affected digital transactions," he said. Box Electronic Payment Transactions

Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have signed the final agreement for the merger. Both companies signed the final agreement on Tuesday. The agreement was signed by Manohar Das Mull, Chairman of Lumbini General Insurance, and Ramakrishna Manandhar, Chairman of Sagarmatha Insurance. As per the agreement, the name of the new entity formed after the merger will be Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company Limited. A special proposal regarding the merger will be tabled in the upcoming general meetings of both companies. Based on the initial agreement between the two companies and the DDA report, the share swap ratio will be maintained at 100:80. Post-merger, the paid-up capital of the company will be Rs 2.62 billion. There will be three each from Sagarmatha Insurance and Lumbini General Insurance on the board of the Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company. The current CEO of Sagarmatha Insurance Chunki Chhetri will be the chief executive officer of the Sagarmatha Lumbini General Insurance Company. The merger drive in the Nepali insurance sector is in full swing. In the last one year, a series of merger agreements have been signed among both, life insurance and non-life insurance companies. The merger momentum in the Nepali insurance sector intensified after the Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) increased the minimum paid-up capital requirements for insurers of both categories. The authority has increased the paid-up capital of non-life insurance companies to Rs 2 billion while it is Rs 5 billion for life insurance companies. The authority has been pushing for consolidation in the Nepali insurance sector since the new Chairman Surya Silwal took charge of NIA. Of the 19 insurance companies involved in the merger process, six companies have merged to become three and have started their integrated business while 13 others are still in the process of completing their merger process. According to NIA, 10 non-life insurance companies have signed merger MoUs to become five, while nine life insurance companies have also signed merger deals to become four entities. So far, two life insurance companies and 4 non-life insurance companies have completed the merger process and started their integration business. The remaining seven life insurance companies and six non-life insurance companies have not been able to start integrated businesses yet. There have been two successful mergers in the non-life insurance sector in the past year. In July 2022, Himalayan General Insurance and Everest Insurance merged to form Himalayan Everest Insurance Insurance Co. Ltd. Similarly, in October, Sanima General Insurance and General Insurance Company merged to form Sanima GIC Insurance Ltd. The first merger among the life insurance companies took place in the last week of December 2022 when two life insurance companies - Surya Life Insurance and Jyoti Life Insurance - completed their merger process and started integrated business as Suryajyoti Life Insurance Company.