Nepal’s two leading mobile payment gateways, eSewa and Khalti have celebrated their anniversary. The two fin-tech leaders have shaped Nepal’s digital payment solution as they seek to further their clout in the growingly competitive market. Find the eSewa’s 13th anniversary and Khalti’s 5th-anniversary offers.

With this latest anniversary, eSewa marked its glorious 13 years on January 25^th. The service was launched in 2009 as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) and has continued to thrive but obtained the license later. Meanwhile, the prominent digital wallet Khalti has turned 5 years old on January 26^th, which had obtained a PSP license from NRB in 2019. The Kathmandu-based PSP has been a remarkable hit in just half a decade gaining a mainstream status among smartphone users.

Especially, in recent years that saw the COVID-19 lockdown, and contactless economic practices, its cashless payment service witnessed a tremendous relevance.  The cheaper internet and the growing use of smartphones have also boosted their reach across the country. Let’s explore their evolution and revolution in brief below.

eSewa – That Revoluionzed Digial Payment in Nepal

For most Nepalese paying bills for services always meant a physical visit to the concerned offices. Long queues and the time spent was accepted as normal but it all changed with the pioneering eSewa launch in 2009. Beginning low-key, it quickly turned mainstream as people jumped to the awe of paying bills remotely. Being able to pay for internet, water, electricity, booking tickets for travel have all been novel to the Nepali legion of smartphone holders and they couldn’t resist. To its own credit, eSewa continued broadening its clutches to accommodate more services in its system.

In subsequent years, the PSP has added banks, utility, and a multitude of services that have catapulted it to the default online payment ruler. The current attraction to the PSP market and the rise of payment operators can be attributed to the enigma it has created in a digitally aspiring country.

Also read: Foodmandu Partners With eSewa To Provide Online Payment Services

More than 80% shares of online payment industry, eSewa trumpets!

eSewa’s tremendous growth reflects its astounding numbers. On the occasion of its 13^th anniversary, eSewa highlighted its milestones in its 23 years of service.

“We are proud to be holding more than 80% shares of the total online payment industry. Also, we are now a network of more than Fifty Lakh users, more than 1.30 lakh Agents, more than Three Lakh Merchants, Fifty-one Banks, and more than Three Hundred Cooperatives. With the shared effort of each one of us, we are able to process more than 5Lakh Transactions on a daily basis.”

What makes eSewa stand out? Its sheer range of payment services ranges from mobile top-up and recharge to booking a flight, or reserving hospital service. Recently, the PSP has also added “Traffic fine payment, Passport, and VAT payment” marking huge steps towards digitizing the Nepali economy.

eSewa’s 13th Anniversary Offer

To celebrate its anniversary, eSewa has launched its special offers for the customers. This includes a 13% cashback (up to Rs.130) to 13,013 first customers. Those who perform the transaction of at least Rs.100 will be eligible for this offer.

Similarly, there is an Rs.130 bonus offer on new registration to 1,000 new users and another offer that includes Rs. 130 bonus to new links.

The offer is valid for January 25 (from 12 A.M. till 11-59 P.M.) and the winners will be announced on 27^th January.

If you didn’t make it to this offer, you have another option that eSewa calls “Hangover Offers“. In this offer, you can earn Rs.130 cashback (available for 250 lucky winners) through Scan and Pay. You can also earn Rs.130 bonus on the “Send Money” service which will be available for another 250 lucky winners.

Khalti – That Quickly Gained a Mainstream Status

Khalti launched just five years ago in 2017 has become a leading digital payment service provider. It was an effort of 4 ambitious men to digitize Nepalese payment solutions for growingly digital Nepal and has quickly gained a major corporate status.

Those 4 innovation-driven men were Amit Agrawal, Manish Modi, Dhruva Adhikari, Arvind Shah whose collaborative effort gave Nepali smartphone users a convenient method of payment.

If you didn’t know Khalti is the same team that brought Sparrow SMS service which benefitted thousands of students for checking on their results. The team invested in Khalti what they had earned with the popular SMS service over its 10 years of the run.

Amit Agrawal the co-founder says, following its license grant by NRB, it has attained more trust from the consumers and will continue offering elite services.

Khalti Marching Forward with Mission Digital

Khalti is currently working on expanding financial literacy and has adopted the “one house one account” mantra.

In terms of more general features, you get regular utility payments such as water supply, internet, and electricity. You can also book a flight, or cinema tickets or pay for insurance. Khalti currently has integrated 23 banks into its system to help its users fulfill their banking services. Recently, Khalti received a major WorldLink investment which will entitle the leading ISP 40% ownership into the company. This will augment Khalti’s Mission Digital vision towards achieving the Digital Nepal goal.

In addition, Khalti and WorldLink have announced a 100 GB WiFi offer available to Khalti account holders from its partner ISP’s hotspot. For more click here.

Khalti has also promoted Small and Medium enterprises by collaborating with eCommerce platforms such as Daraz. With the Khalti account, you can easily pay for goods you purchase on it. Similarly, the company has informed its credit and debit card service is on its way into its system and API.

Khalti’s 5th Anniversary Offer

To celebrate its 5th anniversary, Khalti has launched Refer and Earn offer. With this, you can earn up to Rs.5,000 when you refer Khalti to others.

How to participate? It is easy. Just refer Khalti app among your contact and when the person signs up with the same contact number, Khalti will reward both of you with Rs.5 instantly.

If the referee authenticates the KYC account within 7 days of the signup, both of you will receive another Rs.25 in your Khalti account. If you repeat this among your peers and family, you can be eligible to earn up to Rs.5,000 in bonus.

Trailing just by eSewa, Khalti boasts over 2 million active users, 60,000 merchants, and 15% of the market share. The company delivers its service through 230 dedicated staff.

With the soaring cashless payment trend in Nepal, both eSewa and Khalti will likely remain prominent for years to come. Digital Nepal is driving the ethos of the fin-tech giants, and they will only expand and thrive with more services as online payment becomes the norm.

Check out: Top Digital Wallet/Payment Service Providers in Nepal

We at Nepalitelecom congratulate both eSewa and Khalti on their glorious anniversary and extend our best wishes for more success in the coming days.

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