KATHMANDU: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central authority to regulate, monitor and supervise financial transactions, has directed the banks and financial institutions to make the electronic transactions more customer friendly and cost efficient.

Issuing a directives on September 14, NRB has directed the banks to make their service further customer friendly.

NRB has fixed the fee for transactions through mobile banking.

NRB has issued an integrated directive to provide the service by taking fee of Rs 10 to Rs 30 at maximum to A, B and C class banks and financial institutions.

As per the new provision of NRB, those who want to send money through banks and financial institutions have to pay a fee of Rs 20 for the transaction of Rs. 50,000.

According to the NRB, the fee will be Rs 20 for up to Rs 100,000 and Rs 30 for more than Rs 100,000.

Earlier, banks had fixed the fee for sending money to another bank’s account through mobile banking at their own will.

NRB has directed to continue the system of free transactions up to twice a month when withdrawing money from another bank’s ATM using one bank’s card.

Such banks will not be allowed to take more than Rs 20 per transaction.  Earlier, NRB had instructed not to charge for the use of interbank ATMs during the pandemic induced lockdown.

Banks that used to charge between Rs 25 and Rs 100 per transaction will now be allowed to charge a maximum of Rs 20. Few commercial banks were found charging more than three hundred rupees per transactions for using the ATM of another bank.

Banks will also have to post information on electronic transaction fees on the website. NRB has instructed the banks to update the fees at least every 6 months.

The NRB has also directed that the institution licensed to operate payment services from the bank will not charge any additional fee to the customer for the transactions made through point of sale or point of transaction machine from the merchants of department stores, marts, hotels and shops.

The NRB has stated that the arrangement regarding the fee, interest and compensation charges while operating the service should be clearly mentioned in the agreement between the service provider and the service recipient.