Fonepay and LankaPay sign MOU for Crossborder Interoperable Payment System

Kathmandu, June 2: Fonepay, Nepal’s Largest Payment Network, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network: LankaPay, to collaborate on the strategic partnership to revolutionize the digital payment landscape by developing an interoperable digital payment system enabling users to transact seamlessly across the two countries.

The MOU was signed by Diwas Kumar Sapkota, the CEO of Fonepay and Channa de Silva, the CEO of LankaPay in the presence of Chief Guest, B. Nilusha Dilmini, Charge d’Affaires, a.i. & Head of the Chancery, Sri Lanka Embassy in Kathmandu, Daniel D. Shrestha, Director of Group Strategy, F1Soft Group and Biswas Dhakal, Chairperson, Fonepay and President, F1soft Group.

The impact of this collaboration would be, in simple terms, Sri Lankan Citizens, while traveling to Nepal, can make instant payments by QR to the various merchants of Fonepay Network, by using the mobile application authorized by LankaPay. And Nepali Citizens traveling to Sri Lanka can do the same by using Fonepay-authorized payment applications. All travelers, who are initially the users of either of the network’s applications, can make cross-border payments across merchants of these two networks in an affordable and convenient manner. 

Welcoming the guests and delegates at an event, Diwas Kumar Sapkota, the CEO of Fonepay said, “This collaboration signifies our commitment to leveraging technology to unlock new opportunities, enhance financial inclusion, and create a thriving digital economy. By joining forces, Fonepay and LankaPay are paving the way for a brighter future, where innovation and interoperability propel the economic growth of our countries to new heights. This partnership is of vital importance to us. We will be serving not just Nepal, but one of our closest South Asian neighboring countries, Sri Lanka, also in helping make cross-border digital payments fast, secure, and easy.”

Equally elated about this collaboration, Channa de Silva, the CEO of LankaPay mentioned, “We are thrilled to embark on this journey of interoperability with Fonepay, as it marks a significant milestone in our mission to revolutionize digital payments in our country. This strategic partnership reflects our shared vision of creating a seamless and inclusive payment ecosystem for our customers. By bridging the gaps between our respective platforms, we are opening up a world of possibilities and empowering individuals and businesses to transact effortlessly.”    

Daniel D. Shrestha, Director of Group Strategy of F1Soft Group (parent company of Fonepay) expressing the group’s intent to go global, said, “This MoU signing with Sri Lanka’s largest payment network is part of our philosophy and long-term strategy to try and replicate the successes we have jointly achieved along with our partner BFIs and other actors of the ecosystem since our inception in 2004 in Nepal, now outside of Nepal. In our pursuit of international expansion, we are confident that we will not just have opportunities to take our homegrown technologies and know-hows in the international market, but we will also have ample opportunities to bring in internationally successful technology solutions and know-hows to Nepal.”

Chairperson of Fonepay and President of F1soft, Biswas Dhakal, expressed his excitement in the closing remarks by stating, “This marks a historical step towards achieving interoperability in the digital payment space not only for Fonepay but for the entire country. The interoperability between Fonepay and LankaPay is not just about convenience; it is a catalyst for economic growth. We would like to thank the Central Bank of Nepal for the support in realizing our ambition to establish a cross-border payment network with Lankapay. We also urge the two governments to work on intensifying efforts to increase cross-country tourism, trade and commerce now that we will have a foundation of interoperable payment systems between the two countries.”