Ask around about what accepting QR costs a merchant in Nepal and the answers do not agree. Some say it is free. Some say there is a percentage. Some say it depends on the bank. Search for a published rate and you will not find one.
That is not because anyone is hiding it. It is written into the rules, and once you read them the confusion makes sense.
The sentence that explains it
Nepal Clearing House Limited runs a QR scheme called NEPALPAY QR, and it publishes the rulebook for it: the NEPALPAY QR Operating Rules, version 1.1, November 2021, approved by Nepal Rastra Bank's Payment Systems Department. Section 9.2 says this about the merchant discount rate:
"Acquirer shall be allowed to charge MDR to its merchants [as] per its internal policy or as prescribed by NRB."
The acquirer is your bank, the one that signed you up and settles money into your account. So the scheme does not set your rate. Your bank does, from its own internal policy.
That is why two shops on the same street can pay different amounts, and why nobody online can answer the question for you. There is no national number to look up. There is only your agreement.
One thing to be clear about before going further. These rules are NCHL's, and they govern NEPALPAY QR. They are not a law covering every QR payment in Nepal, and they do not govern Fonepay, which is a separate network with its own scheme and its own rules. The reason this post still matters if you are on Fonepay is that the pattern turns out to be the same: Fonepay does not publish a merchant rate either, and its own guidance sends you to your acquiring bank for your commercial terms. Two schemes, same answer, arrived at separately.
Two names that are not the same thing
Worth separating, because they get used interchangeably:
- NepalQR is the national QR standard.
- NEPALPAY QR is NCHL's implementation of that standard, described in the rules as "an implementing infrastructure of NepalQR, operated by NCHL".
- Fonepay is a separate payment network, licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank as a Payment System Operator, with its own scheme and its own rules.
So "QR" in Nepal is not one system with one price. Ask which scheme you are on before comparing anyone's numbers.
What the scheme does charge, and why it is not your rate
The rules do define fees, but they sit between the institutions rather than on your invoice:
- Interchange fee. NCHL charges this to the acquirer, and it is shared with the issuer at a set ratio. Wholesale cost, not your price.
- Switching fee. Charged to another network for processing internetwork settlement.
- Annual subscription. Paid by members, waived for existing NPI subscribers.
There is one detail here worth knowing as a merchant: the rules say NCHL "may specify differentiated interchange fee based MCC, On-Us, Off-Us, or similar other scenario". MCC is your Merchant Category Code, the classification your bank assigns you at signup. It can change the wholesale cost behind your rate. If your category is set wrong on the form, you may be sitting on the wrong side of that.
What the NEPALPAY QR rules guarantee you
This is the part most merchants never learn, and it is the most useful thing in the document. On settlement, section 7.3 says:
"Acquirer shall ensure that such merchant settlements are done on same day (T+0) or at least by the next business day (T+1)."
The rules put that squarely on your bank, in writing. If you take NEPALPAY QR payments and your money routinely takes longer than the next business day to reach your account, that is not how the scheme is meant to work, and you have a written rule to point at when you ask. On other schemes you do not have this exact sentence to quote, so ask what your settlement commitment is and get it in writing.
The rules also allow NCHL to apply charges or penalties for "complaints on delayed customer/merchant account credit". Delayed settlement is a named problem in the rulebook, not an accepted cost of doing business.
What to ask your bank
Because the rate lives in your agreement, these are the questions worth asking before you sign, and worth revisiting if you signed years ago:
- What is my MDR, and is it per transaction or tiered by amount?
- What Merchant Category Code have you registered me under?
- Is my settlement T+0 or T+1, and what happens when it is late?
- Which schemes am I enrolled in? One form often covers several at once.
- What changes if I take cross-border payments? Rates for visitors paying from foreign wallets are a separate matter from domestic QR.
Ask for the answers in writing. Since the rate is your bank's own policy, there is room to discuss it, but a number someone told you on the phone is impossible to hold them to a year later.
Where a gateway sits in this
None of the above changes when you use PayBridgeNP, and it is worth being precise about why.
Your MDR is between you and your acquiring bank. We do not set it, and we do not take a cut of it. PayBridgeNP charges a flat monthly plan and a 0% platform fee, so the provider's own rate is the only per-transaction cost in the chain. Payments settle straight into your own merchant accounts under your own agreements, so your settlement timing stays your bank's obligation, exactly as NCHL's rules describe it.
What we can do is show you what actually landed. Fees that arrive on the settlement report after the payment are recorded per payment in the dashboard rather than assumed from a rate, which is the only way to know what a given month really cost. More on that in provider fees.
Frequently asked questions
Is QR free for merchants in Nepal?
Often, yes. Most domestic QR payments really do cost nothing, and the published schedules start at zero. But your own rate comes from your bank, not from the schedule, so the only place to check is your agreement.
Why can't I find the rate online?
Because there is not one to find. The scheme rules delegate the merchant rate to each acquirer, so a published national figure would not be meaningful. Anyone quoting you a single number for all of Nepal is guessing.
What is an MCC and why does it matter?
Merchant Category Code, the classification your bank registers you under. NCHL's rules allow differentiated interchange based on it, so it can affect the cost behind your rate. It is set on your application form, which makes it worth checking.
How fast should my money arrive?
On NEPALPAY QR, same day or by the next business day, per section 7.3 of NCHL's operating rules. Other schemes do not publish the same commitment, so ask your bank what yours is. Consistently slower than promised is worth raising.
Next steps
- Compare the providers behind the QR: eSewa vs Khalti vs Fonepay.
- Wondering whether QR alone is enough: is Fonepay QR enough for online payments.
- See what a payment actually cost you: start free in the dashboard.