Nepal Flood Relief Goes Digital As QR Code Donations Push Fund Past NPR 10 Billion

Nepal's expanding digital payments network has transformed the way people donate to disaster relief, allowing citizens, businesses and overseas contributors to send money directly to the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund through QR codes, mobile banking and international payment systems.

By the 11th day after the devastating Aug 26 Bhotekoshi floods, the relief fund had received more than NPR 10 billion, according to The Kathmandu Post.

From Bank Queues To Mobile Payments

For guitarist Bobby Lama of the band Mongolian Heart, the change has been significant.

During the 2015 earthquake and the COVID pandemic, Lama participated in rescue and relief efforts and personally carried cash to affected communities. The inconvenience of visiting a bank meant he did not consider donating to a government relief fund at the time.

After the latest floods, however, he used mobile banking to scan a QR code and transfer money directly to the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund, The Kathmandu Post reported.

The campaign is the first in Nepal to enable direct person-to-government digital transactions on such a large scale. During the 2015 earthquake, people in Nepal and abroad did not have a similarly convenient digital channel to contribute directly to a government relief fund.

Donations following the latest disaster have come from a wide range of contributors, from schoolchildren to global technology company Nvidia.

Digital Networks Drive Relief Contributions

Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said technology had made relief fundraising considerably easier, including for donors based overseas.

"For donors living abroad, we arranged for direct payments using dollar-denominated cards such as Visa and Mastercard. They no longer have to visit a bank or go through cumbersome international bank transfers," Wagle was quoted as saying in The Kathmandu Post report.

Data from the Finance Ministry, digital payments company Fonepay and Nepal Clearing House Ltd (NCHL) showed that electronic payments had emerged as a major source of disaster donations.

Of 889,145 transactions processed through Fonepay's network, 815,219 were domestic QR payments, generating NPR 2.095 billion for the relief fund.

NCHL had recorded 246,614 transactions by Saturday afternoon. Of these, domestic QR payments accounted for the largest number, with 112,932 transactions generating NPR 390.5 million.

International cards such as Visa and Mastercard, authenticated through the 3D Secure system, accounted for more than NPR 1.4 billion through 93,850 transactions.

UPI, Alipay And Global Cards Bring Overseas Donations

Nepal's electronic payment infrastructure is also connected to international networks, enabling Nepalis living abroad and other overseas donors to contribute without using conventional bank transfers.

International payment systems being used for donations include India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), China's Alipay, Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay.

By Saturday, UPI had generated NPR 4.854 crore for the relief fund, while Alipay had contributed NPR 1.797 crore.

"In previous disasters, people had to go to banks and queue up to make donations," Nepal Bankers' Association president Santosh Koirala said.

"The digital transformation of banks and financial institutions now means anyone can easily send relief money through a mobile banking app," he said.

Nepal's Tech Sector Joins Relief Effort

Nepal's software and information technology companies have also provided financial assistance and relief materials to flood-affected communities, according to news portal ekantipur.com.

NAS-IT, the umbrella organisation representing Nepal's software and information technology service providers, and the Computer Association Nepal (CAN) Federation said they were supporting rescue and reconstruction efforts through technology and financial assistance.

IT company Cedar Gate contributed relief materials worth NPR 130,000, while F1 Soft Group donated NPR 13.5 million to the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund.