UPI to Nepal: How the New India-Nepal Cross-Border Payment Link Works (Launched June 2026)

Your husband works in Delhi. Every month he walks to a remittance agent, pays an 8 to 10 percent fee, and waits one to three days for the money to arrive in Kathmandu. On June 9, 2026, that entire process became optional. The official launch of the UPI-NPI cross-border payment link between India and Nepal means he can now open his mobile banking app in Delhi, type your number or UPI ID, and the money lands in your account in Nepal within seconds — at a fraction of the old cost. This guide explains exactly how it works, who can use it right now, what the limits are, and what it means for millions of Nepali families on both sides of the border.

How the UPI-NPI cross-border payment link works — real-time settlement through NPCI International and NCHL with no correspondent bank required

What Is UPI-NPI and Why Does It Matter?

UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is India's instant payment system — the one that processes close to 18 billion transactions every month within India and has been extended to several countries including Singapore, the UAE, France, and Bhutan. NPI (National Payments Interface) is Nepal's equivalent — the consolidated, open-API payment infrastructure operated by Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL) that sits above Nepal's core payment systems and connects banks, wallets, and digital platforms into a single interoperable network.

The UPI-NPI link, built through collaboration between NPCI International Payments Limited (the overseas arm of India's NPCI) and NCHL, creates a direct bridge between these two national payment systems. When it went live on June 9, 2026, it became the first bilateral real-time payment link in either direction between India and Nepal — meaning not just Indian tourists paying at Nepali shops, but genuine peer-to-peer money transfers in both directions across the border, settled instantly through mobile phones.

Neelesh Man Singh Pradhan, Chief Executive Officer of NCHL, described the launch as "a testament to close collaboration and a shared commitment to making cross-border fund transfers seamless, real-time and convenient," adding that the goal is to expand services and ensure inclusion "for millions of people and businesses on both sides."

How to Use UPI to Send Money to Nepal

The process is straightforward for anyone already using a UPI-enabled banking app in India. Here is the step-by-step flow as documented at launch:

1. Open your mobile banking app or UPI app on your Indian phone (GPay, PhonePe, Paytm, or your bank's native app — depending on which banks have been enabled in the first phase).
2. Navigate to the Fund Transfer section, then select Cross-Border Fund Transfer.
3. On first use, complete the cross-border consent step — a one-time acknowledgement that you are initiating an international transfer.
4. Enter the recipient's details: their Virtual Payment Address (VPA), mobile number, or UPI ID registered with their Nepali bank account.
5. Enter the amount in Indian Rupees. The system handles the INR-to-NPR conversion automatically using the prevailing exchange rate.
6. Confirm with your UPI PIN. The transfer settles in real time — the recipient in Nepal sees the funds arrive in their bank account within seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

No bank account numbers need to be shared. No correspondent bank is involved. No waiting for the next business day.

Transaction Limits You Need to Know

The limits are set in line with Nepal Rastra Bank's foreign exchange management guidelines and apply to each user on the Nepali receiving side:

• Per transaction limit: INR 15,000 per transfer
• Monthly limit: INR 1,00,000 per month

These limits are set to align with NRB's foreign exchange management guidelines and are expected to evolve as the system expands. For families sending regular monthly remittances within this range, the limits are adequate for most everyday household support transfers. For larger commercial amounts, traditional banking channels remain the appropriate route.

Who Can Use It Right Now?

At the time of launch, the service was live through a select group of banks on both the Indian and Nepali sides. Expansion to additional banks is expected in subsequent phases. On the Nepali side, connectIPS — NCHL's own digital payment platform — is among the initial services through which Nepali recipients can access incoming transfers.

If your specific bank is not yet enabled, it is worth checking directly with your bank or monitoring updates from NCHL (nchl.com.np) for the rollout schedule, as the expansion is ongoing. The system is designed to scale to the full network of financial institutions in both countries over time.

Old Remittance vs UPI-NPI: The Real Difference

To understand why this matters, it helps to contrast it directly with what Nepali workers in India have been doing until now.

The traditional remittance route from India to Nepal involves visiting a licensed remittance agent or bank, filling out a transfer form, paying a fee that typically runs between 8 and 10 percent of the transferred amount, and waiting between one and three business days for the money to arrive. For someone sending Rs. 15,000 every month, that fee alone comes to Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 1,500 per transfer — Rs. 14,400 to Rs. 18,000 over a year, paid purely in transaction costs.

UPI-NPI transfers settle in real time at a cost that is expected to be significantly lower than traditional channels. Even at a conservative 1 to 2 percent in exchange rate spread, the annual savings for a regular remittance sender are substantial. For a family in a village in Koshi Province waiting for money from a relative in Delhi, the shift from "arrives in three days" to "arrives in seconds" is not a marginal improvement — it is a fundamental change in how financial support flows across the border.

UPI for Indian Tourists in Nepal: What Was Already Working

It is important to distinguish the June 2026 launch from something that had already been quietly operational for over a year. Since February 28, 2024, Indian tourists visiting Nepal have been able to pay at merchants within Fonepay's QR network using their existing Indian UPI apps — scanning the merchant's QR code directly from GPay, PhonePe, or any UPI-enabled app, exactly as they would at home in India.

This QR merchant acceptance covers over 1.5 million merchant outlets across Nepal within the Fonepay network. Twenty banks and financial institutions within Fonepay have been enabled for their customers to accept UPI-based payments. This means an Indian tourist in Thamel, Pokhara, or Bhaktapur can pay for hotels, restaurants, and shopping with their Indian phone without exchanging currency or carrying Nepali cash — a practical convenience that has been available since early 2024.

What June 2026 added is the person-to-person (P2P) layer — the ability to send money directly to another individual's bank account across the border, not just pay at a merchant terminal. This is the part that changes the remittance equation for families.

The Bigger Picture: Nepal in the Global UPI Network

Nepal's UPI linkage is part of a broader Indian strategy to extend UPI as a global payment rail. India's UPI is currently live for cross-border transactions in Singapore, the UAE, France, Mauritius, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and now Nepal — a network of nine countries where Indian UPI users can transact digitally without carrying cash or exchanging currency at airports. Nepal is the first country in this network where the P2P transfer capability works in both directions, rather than only Indian tourists paying at local merchants.

The foundation for this launch was laid through agreements signed in 2023 between NPCI and NCHL, followed by a cross-border payments framework established between the Reserve Bank of India and Nepal Rastra Bank in 2024. The technical integration was handled by NPCI International and NCHL, the same organizations that operate India's and Nepal's core payment infrastructure respectively. The alignment with G20 goals for affordable, accessible cross-border payments adds an international policy dimension to what is, at ground level, a deeply practical change for everyday families.

What to Watch For as the System Expands

The June 2026 launch is explicitly described as a first phase, with expansion to additional banks on both sides planned for subsequent phases. Several questions will shape how useful the system becomes for the broader population:

• Bank rollout speed: The more banks that join on both sides, the larger the addressable user base. Monitoring which Nepali banks enable NPI cross-border receive capability will determine when rural and semi-urban users can access the service.
• Transaction cost transparency: While real-time settlement removes the traditional agent fee, the INR-to-NPR conversion rate applied by participating banks will determine the effective cost. Competitive pressure across participating banks should drive this lower over time.
• Limit revisions: The INR 15,000 per transaction and INR 1,00,000 monthly limits reflect NRB's current forex management guidelines. As the system matures and usage patterns are established, these limits may be reviewed upward.
• Two-way P2P: The current launch enables Indian users in India to send to Nepali users. The full two-way capability — Nepali users sending to Indian bank accounts — is expected to be formalized in subsequent phases.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did UPI-NPI cross-border payments go live?

The UPI-NPI peer-to-peer cross-border remittance link was officially launched on June 9, 2026, by NPCI International Payments Limited and Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL). The official NCHL announcement can be found at nchl.com.np.

Can I use any UPI app to send money to Nepal?

The service launched with a select group of enabled banks on both sides. Not all UPI apps or Indian banks are connected in the initial phase. Check with your specific bank or UPI provider to confirm whether cross-border transfers to Nepal are available on your account.

What are the transfer limits for UPI-NPI payments?

The limits set at launch are INR 15,000 per transaction and INR 1,00,000 per month, in line with Nepal Rastra Bank's foreign exchange management guidelines. These limits may be revised as the system matures.

Does the recipient need to share their bank account number?

No. Transfers use Virtual Payment Addresses (VPAs), mobile numbers, or UPI IDs — no sensitive bank account details need to be shared between sender and recipient.

Can an Indian tourist pay at shops in Nepal using their UPI app?

Yes — this has been possible since February 2024 at merchants within Fonepay's QR network across Nepal. Indian tourists can scan the merchant's QR code with their Indian UPI app exactly as they would in India, covering over 1.5 million merchant outlets nationwide.

Can Nepali users send money to India through this system?

The June 2026 launch primarily enables transfers from India to Nepal. Full two-way P2P capability — Nepali users initiating transfers to Indian bank accounts — is expected in subsequent expansion phases. Monitor updates from NCHL at nchl.com.np for confirmed timelines.

Final Thoughts

The UPI-NPI linkage is a genuinely significant development for Nepal's financial landscape — not because of the technology itself, but because of what it means in practice for the millions of families split between Nepal and India by work and migration. Real-time, low-cost, mobile-first remittances between two of South Asia's most closely connected countries is exactly the kind of infrastructure that moves money from a burden into a convenience. For the full picture of how Nepal's broader payment system works and what NCHL has built, visit the official Nepal Clearing House Limited website at nchl.com.np.