Number of electronic transaction increases, while transaction amount falls by Rs 10 billion

Published On: July 15, 2023 06:45 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, July 15: The number of electronic transactions has increased significantly during the first half of the fiscal year 2022/23. In May/June 2023 alone, the number of electronic transactions stood at a staggering 98 million, worth Rs 4.4 trillion. Comparatively, during the same period last year, the number of electronic transactions was 63 million worth Rs 5.4 trillion.

Although the number of transactions has increased significantly, the transaction amount has decreased by Rs 10 billion. This decline can be attributed to the decrease in Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions.

Guru Prasad Poudel, executive director of the Payment System Department of Nepal Rastra Bank, said that due to the decline in Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions, the amount of electronic transactions has decreased.

Poudel also said that there has been significant progress in the number of electronic transactions. “Large Payment Value System includes large transactions. There is no upper limit for such transactions,” he said, adding, "When the transaction of RTGS decreases, the electronic transactions also decrease.”

Poudel also said that the transactions through the retail payment system have increased. This system includes instruments such as digital wallets, mobile banking, QR code, internet banking, credit/debit cards etc, he said. Such transactions is constantly increasing.

According to Poudel, big entrepreneurs and traders can pay Rs 1 billion revenue to the state through RTGS. Poudel said that monthly transactions through such payments amount to Rs 2.4 trillion. Statistics of Rastra Bank have shown that there has been a decline in RTGS transactions as well. Last year, an average of Rs 30 billion was transacted through RTGS every month and now it has reduced to an average of Rs 20 billion.

The month of June 2023 saw 72,476 electronic transactions through RTGS, with a transaction value of Rs 2.7 trillion.

Highest number of transactions done through mobile banking

The month of May/June 2023 has seen the highest number of mobile banking transactions. In the review month, 29.2 million transactions were made through mobile banking, resulting in a turnover of Rs 2.3 billion.

Similarly, Rs 28 billion was transacted through the use of QR codes more than 95,000 times. Similarly, 4.6 million transactions were done through ConnectIPS.

Internet banking has also witnessed growth in both the number of transactions and the transaction amount. In May/June, Rs 14.54 billion was transacted through a total of 2,86,000 transactions through internet banking.

Branchless Banking: increase in transaction number and transaction amount

During the month of May/June, there were 79,000 transactions through branchless banking service, with a turnover of Rs 1.7 billion.