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In the past one decade Nepal has significantly progressed in the internet and communication sector. While 10.21 million Nepalis have access to the internet, almost a million use e-banking facilities.

But Nepalis are yet to realize the internet’s full potential. Be it gamers, students or any other professionals, they have at some point in time come across content that they desperately need, but is behind a paywall. Nepali banks, until now, didn’t issue cards that could be used to make international online payments.   

During the Covid-19 lockdown, most people had no other option but to do their work online, and this required subscription-based services. But it was not possible to pay for those services with a card issued by your own bank. 

The problem has now been resolved, at least to an extent. Nepal Rastra Bank has now made it possible for Nepali banks to provide prepaid dollar cards to customers for online transactions.

The central bank now allows ‘A’ class commercial and ‘B’ class development banks to provide the service. 

“Although we received a lot of inquiries, the second wave of Covid-19 has affected card-issuance,” says Binay Regmi, deputy head of Digital Banking at Machhapuchchhre Bank. 

NRB has limited the use of the dollar card to buy goods and services worth a maximum of $500 annually. Any individual or firm can easily get a dollar card if they have a PAN and an up-to-date KYC at the respective bank. 

“It can only be used for international online transactions whereas cash advances and manual retail transactions are restricted,” says Bisal Subedi, associate at Standard Chartered Bank.

Different banks have branded their cards with different names. For instance, Sunrise calls its card E-card, Siddhartha eCom Card, Prabhu 500 Card, Nabil iCard and Kumari $eCom Card. 

“The application process is similar to what you have to do while applying for an ATM card,” says 20-year-old Ashwin Rimal, who is happy to use the card to pay his university fees. 

Krishna Subedi, corporate communications head at Nabil Bank, clarifies that banks don’t charge extra for the prepaid dollar cards. “There are no extra fees. It’s a regular card cost of around Rs. 1,000 for a four-year period.”

The new service has  benefitted e-commerce and IT companies. Manish Khadka, who works as an accountant for a private company, shares, “Dollar cards have made it easier for me to buy domain and software.” He now wants banks to allow customers to load the card using e-banking.

Subedi of Standard Chartered informs that people can now purchase subscriptions of global OTT platforms such as Netflix and Spotify with a click. “This service will increase the reach of Nepalis to online markets such as Alibaba and Amazon.”

Pawan Lama from Gokarneshwor, Kathmandu, is a retail businessman who uses a dollar card to advertise his business on social media. He says, “Something is better than nothing. But I think NRB should have set the ceiling a bit higher.”.

The central bank has issued some regulations for the management of dollar cards. The banks have to provide details of monthly transactions to the Foreign Exchange Management Department. They also have to provide card and transaction details to respective customers, when asked. Those using two or more dollar cards will be punished under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (2019). 

If you are on TikTok you’d probably come across a video that has gone viral. In the video the TikToker orders an electric kettle from Daraz, Nepal’s biggest online shopping platform. He plugs the kettle in.

Then something unexpected happens. A female voice emerges from the device, “Your Bluetooth device is now connected.” The TikToker is perplexed. He concludes he has been duped into buying a cheap Chinese instrument.

Perhaps the video was made to poke fun at Daraz and its services, but many customers who have ordered goods from the platform have had their share of real surprises. When you place an order, you never know what you will get and in what form, customers say.

Bijay Adhikari (name changed) ordered groceries worth over Rs 10,000 from Daraz for this month. A few days ago, a Daraz delivery guy knocked at his door with a carton box. Inside was a small bottle of peanut butter wrapped in bubblewrap and tape. Adhikari, an environment science student, felt guilty that so much resource was wasted on a jar of peanut butter.

Social media is flooded with anecdotes on Daraz’s surprises. A user said he was delivered women’s innerwear when he ordered a speaker, another says she received a water bottle when she ordered a water filter. And when she wanted to return the water bottle she was asked to go through a lengthy process, including filling up a requisition form. She vows to never order from Daraz again.

Yet another customer at Ratopul was handed an incredibly light package when she ordered a frying pan. When she questioned the delivery boy what he had bought in the package, he didn’t have a clue. 

The list of complaints goes on and on.

Last year, the Department of Commerce fined Daraz Rs 300,000 after receiving complaints from consumers. But that doesn’t seem to have made much of a difference. These days, people ask themselves, “Maile Daraz bata saman nai kina magako?” (“Why did I even order goods from Daraz?”)

Nimbus has decided to show its support to the organizations, frontline workers, and volunteers fighting for everyone’s safety, risking their own by donating Pro-Tect masks and sanitizers. The company is all set to donate masks and sanitizers at places where it’s needed the most, prioritizing hospitals, quarantine centers, frontline workers including health workers, volunteers, media personnel, and government bodies. 

Nimbus has already distributed masks at Shahid Ganga Lal Hospital, Federation of Nepali Journalists, and Heartbeat, an organization run by volunteers to provide free meals to those in need.

“We are deeply grateful and have immense respect for every person who has risked their life and safety to fight this pandemic. In one of the toughest challenges faced by the world today, we can only win if we all work unitedly,” said Anand Bagaria, managing director.

Pro-Tect is a health and sanitation brand by Nimbus which includes high-quality anti-microbial Kn95 masks, 3ply mask and sanitizer made with WHO-recommended hand rub formulations with 76% ethanol. Organizations and volunteers can apply for Pro-Tect masks and sanitizer stating the required number by logging into www.nimbusbazar.com and clicking on ‘Donate Pro-Tect’, or by calling 977-9828091691.

Nimbus has decided to show its support to the organizations, frontline workers, and volunteers fighting for everyone’s safety, risking their own by donating Pro-Tect masks and sanitizers. The company is all set to donate masks and sanitizers at places where it’s needed the most, prioritizing hospitals, quarantine centers, frontline workers including health workers, volunteers, media personnel, and government bodies. 

Nimbus has already distributed masks at Shahid Ganga Lal Hospital, Federation of Nepali Journalists, and Heartbeat, an organization run by volunteers to provide free meals to those in need.

“We are deeply grateful and have immense respect for every person who has risked their life and safety to fight this pandemic. In one of the toughest challenges faced by the world today, we can only win if we all work unitedly,” said Anand Bagaria, managing director.

Pro-Tect is a health and sanitation brand by Nimbus which includes high-quality anti-microbial Kn95 masks, 3ply mask and sanitizer made with WHO-recommended hand rub formulations with 76% ethanol. Organizations and volunteers can apply for Pro-Tect masks and sanitizer stating the required number by logging into www.nimbusbazar.com and clicking on ‘Donate Pro-Tect’, or by calling 977-9828091691.