Nepali financial institutions have added 583,573 new debit card holders in the first eight months of the fiscal year, according to data released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).
Quoting data released by NRB, the Kathmandu Post reported that the total number of debit card holders in the country have reached 3.58 million as of mid-August 2013.
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Around 4,914 new credit card holders have been added to the country’s banking channel, as of mid-August this year, bringing the total number of credit card holders to 38,700.
As per the law of the land, commercial banks, development banks and finance companies can issue debit cards, but only commercial banks are permitted to provide credit cards.
Commercial banks have so far issued 2.75 million cards, development banks have issued 265,500 cards and finance companies 104,990 cards, according to the data released by the country’s central bank.
Additionally, the report stated that a total of 1,499 ATM outlets are being maintained the country’s banks and financial institutions.
Overall, 1239 ATM booths are operated by 31 commercial banks across the country. Development banks and finance companies have 233 ATM outlets and 27 ATMs respectively.
