IME Pay and Khalti Announce Historic Merger in Nepal’s Digital Payment Sector

Nepal’s leading digital wallets, IME Pay and Khalti, have signed a merger agreement, marking the first such merger in the country’s fintech industry. The merged entity is expected to be named IME Khalti, pending approval from Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

While the share swap ratio is yet to be finalized, a 1:1 ratio is a strong possibility. NRB recently amended regulations to encourage mergers and acquisitions in the sector, focusing on service quality over quantity.

IME Pay, backed by IME Group, holds Rs 300 million in paid-up capital, while Khalti, supported by WorldLink and Sparrow SMS, has Rs 50 million. On the user front, Khalti has 5M+ downloads, whereas IME Pay has 1M+ subscribers.