India–Nepal UPI corridor goes live: 18 Indian, 6 Nepali banks enable real-time VPA remittances
NPCI and Nepal's NCHL have switched on real-time cross-border UPI transfers via VPAs. India-to-Nepal capped at INR 2 lakh per transaction; Nepal-to-India at INR 15,000 per transaction and INR 1 lakh per month, with a flat NPR 240 fee. Opens a rails-level remittance and merchant-payments lane atop UPI's 18B monthly transactions.
What happened
NPCI and Nepal's NCHL have launched real-time cross-border UPI remittances between India and Nepal via VPAs, with 18 Indian and 6 Nepali banks live. Limits are
Key facts
- INR 15,000 per transaction (Nepal-India)
- INR 100,000 per month
- INR 200,000 per transaction (India-Nepal)
- NPR 240 flat fee
- 6 Nepali banks
- 18 Indian banks
- 18 billion UPI transactions/month
Why this matters
Cross-border UPI is becoming a repeatable export template after UAE, Singapore, France, and now Nepal—evaluate partnership or acquisition targets in fintechs building VPA-issuance, compliance, and merchant-acceptance layers atop NPCI's expanding international rail.