SCT, NCHL partner with Alipay+ for SmartQR payments

KATHMANDU: Smart Choice Technologies (SCT) and Nepal Clearing House (NCHL) have signed an agreement to facilitate payment services for SmartQR merchants via Alipay+. 

Both SCT and NCHL are payment system operators licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

Alipay+ has been providing inter-country payment services through e-wallets and mobile banking in several countries, including China, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.

Following this agreement, over 1.6 billion Alipay users will be able to make payments to merchants affiliated with SmartQR. SmartQR, Nepal's first interoperable QR code issued under the Nepal QR standard, complies with the international EMV standard for QR codes, which stands for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa.

This agreement is anticipated to simplify the process of receiving international payments for SmartQR merchants.