The central bank has given the facility to Nepali banks to issue prepaid cards. The Foreign Exchange Department of Nepal Rastra Bank has stated that prepaid cards can be issued to commercial banks and development banks in foreign currency up to USD 500.
At present, foreign cards are being used to advertise on social media from Nepal which is actually illegal. NRB had also tightened the rules saying that Nepali money was being sent abroad illegally while making such payment. Now, with the new arrangement made by NRB, banks can issue prepaid cards, which will make it easier to pay for advertisements on social media and to buy goods from foreign online.
A card can be issued by commercial banks and development banks by exchanging a Nepali rupee in the bank account of the concerned person, firm, company, or institution. When issuing a card, a maximum of USD 500 or equivalent convertible foreign currency can be deposited based on the exchange rate on the day of issuance of the card. While issuing prepaid cards, banks will have to make it mandatory for customers to declare that they have not availed the facility from other banks as the user is not permitted to get prepaid cards from more than one bank. If the customer is found to have used such a facility from more than one bank, it will be punishable as per the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 2019.
To receive the prepaid card the user must have a permanent account number (PAN) card and the customer identification details of the concerned user should also be up to date. The user will be able to use the amount issued for up to one year after the issuance of the card and the user can trade other convertible foreign currencies equivalent to USD 500.
The card allows users to purchase goods from overseas online stores, pay for platforms such as Amazon and Netflix, or pay for digital advertising through Google and Facebook.