Payment System Providers (PSOs) will have to register as public companies. Nepal Rastra Bank’s unified directive 2080 has introduced the provision that directs PSOs to convert into public enterprises. This opens a new prospect for potential investors to invest their resources in electronic payment companies in Nepal.
In its directive, NRB states that companies will have to go public by the end of Ashar 2085. “The companies that obtained a license to operate as a payment system operator before the issuance of this directive must be converted into a public limited company by the end of Ashar 2085,” NRB asserts in its directive.
If you are unfamiliar, PSOs are types of companies that process payment for other firms, such as digital wallets, banks, etc. They are different from payment system providers, which are digital wallets, mobile banking, and other services that directly settle payments between users and merchants.
Payment System Operators directed to go public
Payment system operators going public means people will have opportunities to buy stocks in the company. Currently, there are nine licensed payment system operators. They are Nepal Clearing House (NCHL), Fonepay, Smart Choice Technologies, Union Pay International, Visa Worldwide, Nepal Payment Solution, First Pay Technology, Mastercard Asia/Pacific, and Gateway Payment Service.
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Despite having 9 PSOs at the moment, a few are leading the market. Fonepay, NCHL, and Smartchoice Technologies are the bigger players. And their going public means a delightful prospect for the public to make their investment. After registering as public, companies such as Fonepay will issue an IPO (Initial Public offering). That should take some time, but still, it’s a major new direction the federal bank has set for the PSOs.
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