Kathmandu
/ Nepal
Clearing House Ltd. (NCHL)’s connectIPS
e-Payment System has crossed,for the first time, daily transaction value of over
NRs2 billion since 8th June, 2020. This is a landmark reached for a
real-time retail payment system implemented by NCHL and sinceits operations
from Baisakh 2075.
The month to month connectIPS transaction has grown by 75% and 186% in terms of number
and value respectively, during the three months of lockdown. The monthly total
transaction value in connectIPS e-payment
system during the last months of Chaitra, Baishak and Jesthahave remained at NRs
13.8 B, NRs 24 B and NRs 39.5 B respectively.It is also noteworthy that 64% of the
transactions were initiated through National Payments Interface (NPI), which is
a consolidated APIs for allowing the institutions to initiate their
transactions through their alternate channels towardsconnectIPS or NCHL-IPS or other systems.Apart from the available
alternate channels of mobile app, web and bank branches of connectIPS e-payment system, NPI has played an important role to
increase the transactions in connectIPS.
NPI acts as a local domestic payments rail for integration and interoperability
of the alternate channels (mobile, internet, corporate banking) of BFIs,
PSPs/PSOs, Government entities and other large institutions. It is being used
by 6 mobile wallets (other 8 on pipeline), almost all insurance companies,
remittance companies, NEPSE, stock brokers, social security fund, employee
provident fund, and almost all BFIs.
connectIPS
platform has enrollment of over 58 BFIs and allows the bank customers to
initiate fund transfer based on bank account of any beneficiary or mobile
number of other users. Such fund transfer can also be done easily from the
bank’s own mobile or internet banking, which does not require separate
enrollment in the connectIPS. Some of
the other paymentsavailable in the platform are Government revenue payment, CIT
loan repayment, Social Security Fund payment, credit card bill payments, mobile
wallet top-up, capital market related payments, e-commerce payments,
school/colleges, insurance payments and similar.connectIPS e-Payment has been implemented as a faster payment system
in Nepal having multiple channels of mobile, web, gateway and APIs provided to
the member banks & financial institutions, payment service providers
(PSPs), payment system operators (PSOs) and other large entities. And all
transactions are processed directly from the bank accounts.
NCHLcurrently handles daily average transaction
of over one lakh equivalent to daily settlement value of NRs 40+ B, through all
its payment systems. However, unlike other payment systems, connectIPS is a complete digital payment
platform that allows the bank customers to initiate and process transactions
from alternate channels. And the increase in the transactions in connectIPS even during the lockdown
situation, which has gone down for other systems, is a strong indication of the
acceptability of digital payments or at least towards such direction. This is
expected to generate much needed momentum for digital payments
after the lockdown.
NCHL, a company
promoted by Nepal Rastra Bank and Banks & Financial Institutions, has been
operating NCHL-ECC, NCHL-IPS, connectIPS
e-Payment, connectRTGS and National Payments Interface(NPI).
