Leading ISP WorldLink invests in Khalti, a leading payment service provider in Nepal. This investment will help bring financial services to rural areas in Nepal while also aiding Khalti’s goal of financial inclusivity.
WorldLink Communications now earns 40% ownership at Khalti with this partnership.
Both WorldLink and Khalti have been steadily expanding their services to more areas in recent years. This partnership between the ISP and the payment gateway will be a significant lift for both services to increase their penetration.
WorldLink has been providing its fiber broadband service in 77 districts and wants to bring financial services to rural areas with the Khalti collaboration. Khalti also has its own goal of financial inclusivity under its ‘Mission Digital’.
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WorldLink and Khalti Partnership a Milestone
“WorldLink has been expanding its internet coverage across urban and rural settlements,” WorldLink Chair Dilip Agrawal says. “This partnership with Khalti will be a milestone in Nepal’s ICT reinforcements.” He added further.
He expressed his belief that the partnership with Khalti will help bring both connectivity and digital financial services to rural areas of Nepal.
This is also a novel collaboration between an ISP and a payment gateway which could be a reference for many startups in Nepal.
Agrawal says, “A domestic company investing in another domestic startup will encourage other investors and startups to step up. This partnership will give a morale boost to those venturing with innovative plans and ideas in Nepal.”
He added, ”WorldLink will always play its part to support innovative minds that help to realize the Digital Nepal vision.”
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A Big Morale Booster for Khalti
In just 5 years of its launch, Khalti has become a prominent PSP in Nepal. The digital wallet is licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank to operate as the PSP and domestic remit service. Khalti has been actively operating since 2017.
Khalti provides users utility payments, insurance premiums, online shopping, government services among many others.
Khalti competes with eSewa in the growing digital wallet market in Nepal. The two are leading mobile payment gateways. The partnership with Nepal’s largest ISP WorldLink will be its biggest morale booster to reach the top. Besides, it will help in Khalti’s own Mission Digital vision.
“WorldLink’s investment will play a pivotal role in bringing financial services within many’s reach,” Khalti co-founder Amit Agrawal said. “With this collaboration, Khalti will step up right away to ensure financial inclusivity,” he further added.
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WorldLink has almost 5.50 lakh subscribers and remains the most affluent ISP in Nepal. While Khalti boasts over 2 million active users with over 90% of banks and financial institutions tied for its payment partnership.
The unique yet innovative partnership between the two entities will complement each other and help raise its graph in the coming days.
What do you make of WorldLink and Khalti partnership? Will it help Khalti reach higher goals in its digital wallet competition in Nepal? Do leave your opinions in the comments below.