Travellers from Nepal can now make QR payments across Sri Lanka by using selected domestic payment apps at LankaQR merchants.
The service allows users from Nepal to make QR payments at more than 400,000 LankaQR merchants, reducing the need for cash or currency exchange.
The launch was announced at an event in Colombo attended by officials from Nepal Rastra Bank, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Nepal Clearing House Ltd., LankaPay and participating banks and financial institutions from both countries.
Laxmi Sunrise Bank is enabling the service in the first phase as the issuing bank.
Its dollar cards and instruments can be linked to the connectIPS app for QR payments in Sri Lanka.
Other mobile banking apps in Nepal are expected to be added later.
The payment link connects the national payment infrastructures of Nepal and Sri Lanka and supports real-time QR transactions through regulated systems.
The initiative is expected to support tourism and business travel between the two countries, while giving LankaQR merchants, including SMEs, access to more cross-border customers.
It also adds to wider efforts in South Asia to improve digital payment interoperability.
