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KATHMANDU, NEPAL/COLOMBO, SRILANKA, 12th May 2026 – In a significant milestone for regional digital payment interoperability, Nepal and Sri Lanka today officially launched cross-border QR payment connectivity, enabling Nepali travellers visiting Sri Lanka to make seamless digital payments using their domestic payment applications, including mobile banking apps and connectIPS, at more than 400,000 merchants accepting LankaQR across Sri Lanka.
The launch was formally announced at a special event held in Colombo in the presence of senior officials from the Nepal Rastra Bank, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, senior representatives from Nepal Clearing House Ltd. (NCHL), LankaPay, and participating banks and financial institutions from both countries. The initiative marks a major advancement in regional financial integration and digital payment connectivity between South Asian nations, further strengthening secure, real-time, and interoperable payment ecosystems.
Nepal and Sri Lanka share longstanding historical, cultural, and religious ties, supported by growing tourism and business exchanges between the two countries. The new cross-border QR payment arrangement is expected to significantly enhance the travel experience for tourists and business visitors by providing a convenient, secure, and cashless payment option without the hassle of physical currency exchange. The interoperability between the national payment infrastructures of Nepal and Sri Lanka also opens new opportunities for merchants, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, by enabling access to international customers through seamless digital acceptance.
Under this arrangement, Nepali users can make real-time payments in Sri Lanka by simply scanning LankaQR codes using participating payment applications from Nepal. Transactions are processed through regulated and secure payment infrastructure, ensuring convenience, safety, and efficiency for users and merchants alike. The service has been enabled first by Laxmi Sunrise Bank as an issuer Bank, such that in the initial phase, dollar cards/instruments issued by Laxmi Sunrise Bank can be linked to the connectIPS app and make QR payments in Sri Lanka. Eventually, other mobile banking apps will be enabled with this feature to make seamless payments while travelling to Sri Lanka.
The cross-border QR payment connectivity reflects the shared commitment of both countries to promote inclusive digital financial services, strengthen regional payment interoperability, and accelerate the adoption of modern payment systems. By linking the two national payment ecosystems, the initiative is expected to support tourism, trade, and people-to-people connectivity while contributing to the broader vision of regional digital cooperation.
Nepal Clearing House Ltd. (NCHL) is a public limited company promoted by the central bank of Nepal along with banks and financial institutions in Nepal to establish and operate multiple national payment systems and infrastructures. NCHL currently operates more than ten national-level systemically important payment infrastructures in Nepal, including the Electronic Cheque Clearing (ECC), Interbank Payment System (IPS), Retail Payment Switch (RPS), connectRTGS, National Payments Interface (NPI), connectIPS, CORPORATEPAY, National Payment Switch (NPS), NEPALPAY QR, NEPALPAY Card, EFT Switch, and NPIx for cross-border payment integrations. Its systems and networks are used by all major banks and financial institutions in Nepal, along with numerous non-bank entities and government institutions. NCHL has also been providing cross border QR payments in NEPALPAY QR partnering with Alipay+, whereby international tourists travelling to Nepal can use their 17+ international mobile wallets to scan and pay at over 1.4 million local merchants in Nepal.
LankaPay was established in 2002 as Sri Lanka’s interbank cheque-clearing entity and has since evolved into the operator of the country’s national payment network, serving as a key pillar of Sri Lanka’s digital payment ecosystem. Promoted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka together with public and private sector banks, LankaPay plays a central role in enabling secure and efficient electronic payment services across the country. LankaPay is committed to advancing digital payments and building a financially connected society through modern, interoperable payment infrastructure. LankaQR, Sri Lanka’s national QR payment scheme, operates on LankaPay’s payment network and serves as the country’s standardized QR payment acceptance platform.