Kathmandu: Nabil Bank Limited and Smart Ideas Pvt. Ltd. (Hamro Patro) have signed an agreement to introduce a card-based remittance service. Nabil Bank’s NBank Chief, Pradeep Nepal, and Smart Ideas’ Senior Engineering Manager, Suraj Gautam, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday during a ceremony.

According to the agreement, Nabil Bank has integrated its card-based remittance platform, NRemit, into the Hamro Patro app. Users of Hamro Patro residing outside Nepal can now access the ‘Remittance’ option within the app to send money by entering details of the sender, receiver, and the purpose of the remittance. The service allows users to send remittances using their international MasterCard or Visa card.

Under this service, users can transfer amounts ranging from a minimum of USD 100 to a maximum of USD 5,000. According to Nabil Bank, recipients in Nepal will be able to instantly receive the remittance in any local bank account.

Nabil Bank has been offering the NRemit service through its NBank app since December 2022. This marks the first time the bank has expanded this service through collaboration with a third party. “This is a milestone for banking services, as it represents the first step towards open banking in the country,” said Adarsha Bajgain, Deputy General Manager of International Trade and NBank at Nabil Bank.

Both institutions aim to simplify the remittance process in Nepal through this agreement, which is expected to strengthen the country’s banking sector. Nabil Bank has played a pivotal role in Nepal’s banking development by introducing innovative services for over 40 years. It currently serves more than 2.4 million customers through 268 branches and 317 ATMs across the country.

Smart Ideas Pvt. Ltd. operates the popular Hamro Patro app, which is widely used by both Nepalese living in the country and abroad.