Latest news with #NabilBank
Time Business News
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
One Year On, Indians Pay Freely in Nepal While Nepalese Are Still Denied QR Access in India
New Delhi– Despite India and Nepal signing a memorandum of understanding over a year ago to enable cross-border digital payments, a one-sided implementation has persisted. Indian visitors in Nepal have been using UPI-enabled apps to pay via QR codes since mid-2023, but Nepali citizens are still unable to use the same facility while in India. Nepali officials attribute the delay to reluctance on the Indian side, despite Nepal's technical readiness and successful test runs. Nepal Rastra Bank has already approved the initiative, and trials like the one conducted by Nabil Bank in Mumbai last year have proven functional. Yet, the official rollout for Nepalis in India—initially scheduled for early 2025—remains stalled with no clear timeline. According to Nepali officials privacy to the matter, the official launch of QR-code-based payments in India has been delayed due to reluctance on the Indian side. One key challenge lies in the difference in transaction models between the two countries. In India, QR-based payments are typically free for users, whereas in Nepal, Indian users are charged a minimal 1.95% merchant fee per transaction. To make the system viable in India for Nepalis, commissions would need to be paid to Nepali banks, which currently lacks a sustainable framework. In March 2025, officials announced that a pilot phase allowing Nepalis to scan and pay in India would begin within two months. However, there has been no visible progress, raising concerns about commitment to cross-border digital inclusivity. The original agreement, signed on June 1, 2023, between Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL) and India's NPCI International Payments Limited, was intended to ease transactions for tourists, businesses, and students. But while the vision was bilateral, the execution so far remains largely one-directional. As bilateral tourism and trade grow, the inability of Nepalis to make seamless payments in India—while Indians enjoy full access in Nepal—raises questions about parity and reciprocity in digital finance cooperation between the two neighbours. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
India.com
08-07-2025
- Business
- India.com
Meet Nepal's only billionaire, owns 136 companies, net worth is Rs 154384785180; no match for Mukesh Ambani, Adani, his business is...
Binod Chaudhary (File) India, the pre-eminent economic and military power in the subcontinent, is known as the hub of billionaires whose numbers keep rising each year. However, India's neighbors are smaller and economically weaker, and consequently have fewer billionaires and high net-worth individuals, with Nepal having a solo billionaire, Binod Chaudhary. Let us find out more about Binod Chaudhary, the only Nepali billionaire in the world. Who is Binod Chaudhary? Born in a Marwari business family in Kathmandu, Binod Chaudhary is a businessman-turned-politician and the only Nepali-origin billionaire in the world. Binod's family has deep roots in India; his grandfather migrated from Rajasthan to Nepal, and later Binod's father established the country's first departmental store. Growing up Binod Chaudhary wanted to pursue higher studies but ultimately joined the family business after his father was diagnosed with a fatal heart ailment. Chaudhary gave up his chartered accountancy course in India and took over the family business, and later expanded it to phenomenal levels under his leadership. What is Binod Chaudhary's business? Binod Chaudhary runs the Chaudhary Group, also known as CG Corp Global, a multinational conglomerate that owns 136 businesses across multiple sectors including banking, consumer apparel, education, hotels, electronics, energy and medicine. Some of the well-known brands and firms owned by the Chaudhary Group include the popular 'Wai Wai' noodles, and Nepal's Nabil Bank. The conglomerate also owns and operates 143 hotels and resorts, including several 5-star hotels in collaboration with India's Taj Hotels chain. In 1973, Binod Chaudhary opened Nepal's iconic disco, and in 1984 introduced the Wai Wai noodles brand in the country. The business tycoon also partnered with top brands like Suzuki and Panasonic, and 1995, acquired a controlling stake in Nabil Bank from the Dubai government. How much is Binod Chaudhary's net worth? Binod Chaudhary, the sole billionaire from Nepal, has a net worth of $2 billion, as of July 8, 2025, according to Forbes Real Time Billionaires List.
