Debit Cards and Credit Cards In Nepal
Debit Cards and Credit Cards In Nepal: – Debit Card is a bank card or credit card which is used as cash while performing transactions like shopping or buying anything. In case of the debit card, the cash comes straight from the user’s bank account. All of these functions can be found in one physical card so that it would be reliable and can be used in different circumstances.
Today Debit card is used by the maximum people all around the world due to which it is offered through all the largest card issuers i.e. American Express, Discover Card, Master Card and Visa. And if we go into detail about the debit card, there are many other types of debit cards and each one is approved with a specific country or region.
For example, people in the United Kingdom use the card “Maestro” and “Solo”, Interact is popular among Canadian people, UnionPay in China, Repay in India, NIBL in Nepal and so on. Currently, there are three ways that debit card transactions operate which are: Online debit, Offline debit, and Electronic purse Card System.
- Online Debit cards are that kind of card which needs an electronic authority for each transaction. All the debts that are made by the users are shown in the users account instantly. And those transactions become secured with the PIN system i.e. Personal Identification Number system. In this way, some online cards need such verification for each transaction the difficulty that users face while using the online card is it requires electronic authorization device at the point of scale and intermittently a separate PIN Pad to enter the PIN, despite the fact this is becoming a common place for all card transactions in many countries. Online Debit purchaser gets the option to withdraw cash.
A credit card is bank card which is given to cardholders to facilitate cardholders to pay for goods and services to the merchants based on the cardholder’s commitment to the card issuers to pay them for the amount so paid with some extra charges in addition. The cardholder usually the bank makes a revolving account for the cardholders and provides a line of credit from which the cardholders can rent the money for payment to merchants. A credit card requires the balance to be repaid every month in order to make the card operate smoothly. In this way, by repaying the monthly payment it can be used as a currency by the owner of the card.
Some of the technical specifications of credit cards are it is almost the same size as ATM cards and other payment cards such as a debit card. We can also find the issue and expiry dates as well as the extra codes. At first, the agreement is made between the two parties i.e. the credit cards issuing company such as bank or credit union and merchants for the acceptance of the cards. Merchants generally display the logos or similar kind of acceptance mark on the card which they accept. The credit cards issuer usually grants the interest charges if the balance is paid in full by the cardholders every month.
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For example: if the cardholder had 1000 dollars transaction and repaid it within specific time period then the card issuer would charge no any interest but in case if even 1 dollar of the total charge remains unpaid then the cardholders has to part the interest of the whole amount i.e. 1000 dollars from the purchase date until the payment is received. Generally, there are four different types of credit cards and they are Business credit cards, secured credit cards, prepaid credit cards and digital credit cards.
- Business credit cards are a type of credit card which is issued in the name of the registered business and this card can only be used for business purpose. The use of these cards has been grown in these past decades. Business credit cards provide a number of features based on business such as office supplies, shipping, business technology and travel. All the major card issuers like American Express, Visa, and Master cards all of them offer Business credit cards
- Secured Credit cards are that kind of cards that is secured by the owner’s deposit account. For example: if the cardholder deposit 1000 dollars in his or her account then he or she will be given the credit in the range of 700- 1000 dollars. The disadvantage is that the cardholders holding the secured credit cards are still expected to make regular deposits. The advantage of this card form the person with no credit history is that it builds up the positive credit history which means they can get the huge amount of credit in the future with fewer burdens.
Talking about the large banks in Nepal, one of the large bank NIBL (Nepal Investment Bank Limited) has always provided innovative and world-class services to its customers. They offer both Visa Debit Card and Visa Credit Card. Due to its wonderful work and customer service, NIBL is another first Visa Electron Debit Card in Nepal. It provides its valued customer’s flexibility in Nepal. There are many other banks that offer varieties of debit cards to its customers i.e. Visa Debit, MasterCard Debit and STC Debit. Visa Card is the international brand which has a wide range of acceptance worldwide. One of the banks that offer Visa Card is the Himalayan Bank Ltd.
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This bank is also considered as the principal member bank to Nepal for offering the Visa Card. The Visa Card that is issued by Himalayan Bank Ltd. is accepted all over the Nepal and in India as well. Some of the features of this card are the card has 4 four years of the validity period, it is very easy to apply and get a card by opening an individual Savings or Current account with of the branch of Himalayan Bank Limited, the card is directly linked to the cardholder’s account, etc.
Similarly, another debit card that is issued by the Himalayan bank of Nepal is Master Card Debit. This card is also an international brand in Card Business and it has very similar features to that of Visa Card. The customers who an individual account or current account or savings account with any branch of Himalayan Bank can request for this card. Likewise, STC Debit is another card issued by Himalayan Bank. It is a local branded card which is valid mainly for the domestic purpose. Its features are very similar to that of MasterCard and Visa Card i.e. 4 years of warranty; no any extra charges for cash withdraw at Himalayan bank ATMs and POS terminals.
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Talking about the credit cards in Nepal the same bank i.e. the Himalayan Bank Ltd. introduced the first Nepali Credit Cards in Nepal not for the international market but for the domestic market. The card was the most popular card in the country and was named as “HBL PROPRIETARY CARD”. These are the names of some cards that facilitate cardholder to use the card now and pay later: Visa classic/ gold domestic, Visa classic/ gold international, MasterCard domestic, MasterCard International, etc. There are two other banks that issue credit cards for use in both Nepal and India whereas Nabil bank and Himalayan bank issues international card as well.
In context to Nepal, an international Visa Debit Card from Himalayan Bank can be obtained by filling an application at Thamel or Maharajgunj office. Some of the minimal requirement for it is US dollar convertible saving account with a balance of 50 US dollars. 75 US dollars is charged yearly for a classic visa. Similarly, an International Master Card Debit Card from Nabil bank can be obtained by filling an application at antipathy office. It charges about 50 US dollars as a joining fee and another 50 dollars each year. Another bank, Nepal Grind lays Bank Limited has no any internationally accepted cards but it offers the domestic card that can be used in both Nepal and India.
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Here in Nepal, people can use all the major credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, Cirrus and American Express especially in Pokhara and the capital city, Kathmandu. But some of the cards among the major credit cards may not be accepted by some ATMs. There will be small signs on the ATMs somewhere around by which people can know that which cards are accepted by that particular ATM machine. So it is better to stick with the large banks rather than the small banks to withdraw the money. Besides these places, cash is pretty preferable in other places.
Talking about the international cards, there are very limited numbers of terminals where visitors can use international debit cards and credit cards. The cards that are accepted in Nepal are Visa Electron, Master Card, Maestro Card and plus. Generally, there are two major card networks that are popular among the people. First one is Visa network and another one is STC network. Talking about the terminals, there are about 83 terminals available in Visa network and about 136 terminals in STC networks.
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So if any visitors intend to visit the Nepal, they must know properly about the certain rules that are followed by all the cardholders in Nepal. Things that come under it are:
- Even though ATM services are found all over the Nepal but only some of them accept the international cards.
- The popular cities of Nepal. Kathmandu and Pokhara only have regular working machines which accept the international cards.
- Everywhere in Nepal, the cash is given out only in rupees and there is also a certain limitation on cash that means ATM gives out cash only up to a certain amount in the range between 10,000 to 30,000 rupees depending on the bank itself.
Hence most of the large banks in Nepal are mostly located in Kathmandu and Pokhara areas from where any visitors can withdraw the required amount by using their debit or credit cards. All of the card issuers mostly the large banks have their own kind of offer and own kind of rules for their customers. Since Nepal is a developing country, use of debit and credit cards among Nepalese people is increasing day by day. Many of the works nowadays are done online. Many people are getting into the things like online clothing, buying accessories which help to develop the different debit and credit card using habits among the people. These all things mentioned above are all related to debit and credit cards in Nepal.
Author: Pawan Maskey
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