Wallets/esewa
eSewa
0 standards supported
Overview
eSewa is Nepal's leading digital wallet + South Asia's first digital wallet, established 2009 as a F1Soft Group subsidiary 1, 2, Nepal report. eSewa has 10+ million users + 250,000 agents + 425,000 merchants + 49+ banking partnerships — serving more than one-third of Nepal's population via all 753 local bodies in Nepal. eSewa became the first Nepali wallet to surpass 10 million Play Store downloads.
Distinctive eSewa positioning: licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank as a PSP under the Payment and Settlement Act. Recent features: Easy Loan for Agents + Merchant Link + AI-powered Chatbot + Personal Finance Manager + Personalized Payment Calendar.
History
2009 — eSewa launches by F1Soft 2: South Asia's first digital wallet + Nepal's pioneering payment service.
2009-2020 — Nationwide Nepal expansion 1: All 753 local bodies coverage.
2024-2025 — 10M+ users + first Nepali wallet to 10M Play Store downloads 1.
2025 — Khalti-IME Pay merger context 3: eSewa remains independent; wallet-to-wallet transfer discussions among Nepali wallets.
Ownership & operator
Operating entity: eSewa — pioneering social-enterprise subsidiary of F1Soft Group.
Parent: F1Soft Group — Nepal fintech conglomerate (20+ years).
Regulator: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) — licensed as Payment Service Provider (PSP) under Payment and Settlement Act.
Technical integration
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Channels | eSewa mobile app (iOS + Android) + agent network + merchant QR |
| Identifiers | Phone + QR |
| Nepal rail | Fonepay (Nepal national QR via F1Soft sister-brand Fonepay) |
| Agent network | 250,000 agents |
| Merchant network | 425,000 merchants |
| Banking partnerships | 49+ Banks and Financial Institutions |
| Coverage | All 753 local bodies in Nepal |
| Recent features | Easy Loan for Agents + Merchant Link + AI Chatbot + Personal Finance Manager + Personalized Payment Calendar |
Users & growth
2025 baseline 1:
- Users: 10+ million (more than 1/3 of Nepal's population)
- Agents: 250,000
- Merchants: 425,000
- Banking partners: 49+
- Distinction: First Nepali wallet to surpass 10M Play Store downloads
Use cases
P2P transfers; merchant QR payments via Fonepay QR; bill payments + utility + mobile top-ups; remittances (MoneyGram partnership); agent banking + cash-in/cash-out; loan products (Easy Loan for Agents); personal finance management.
Implementations & partners
Operator: eSewa (F1Soft Group).
Parent: F1Soft Group (Nepal fintech conglomerate).
National QR rail: Fonepay (F1Soft sister-brand operating Nepal national QR rail).
Remittance partner: MoneyGram.
Major Nepali competitors: Khalti (Nepal digital wallet, merging with IME Pay in 2025), Fonepay (Nepal national QR; F1Soft sister), IME Pay (merging with Khalti 2025), PrabhuPAY (Nepal wallet).
Regulator: Nepal Rastra Bank.
Fun facts
- South Asia's first digital wallet (2009).
- First Nepali wallet to surpass 10M Play Store downloads.
- More than 1/3 of Nepal's population uses eSewa (10M+ users).
- 250K agents + 425K merchants + 49+ banking partners — comprehensive Nepali coverage.
- All 753 Nepal local bodies served.
- F1Soft Group parent — 20+ years Nepal fintech.
- MoneyGram partnership for remittances.
- AI-powered Chatbot + Personal Finance Manager recent features.
Comparison
| Feature | eSewa | Khalti (NP rival) | Fonepay (NP national QR) | bKash (BD analogous) | UPI QR (IN analogous national) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | eSewa (F1Soft Group) | Khalti (Janaki Technology) | Fonepay (F1Soft sister) | bKash (BRAC Bank + Money in Motion + Ant Group + IFC) | NPCI India |
| Type | Nepal pioneer wallet + agent network | Nepal digital wallet (merging IME Pay 2025) | Nepal national QR rail | BD largest mobile wallet | IN national A2A instant payment |
| Country | Nepal | Nepal | Nepal | Bangladesh | India |
| Users | 10M+ (>1/3 NP pop) | Major (post-IME merger) | 20M users + 1.7M merchants | 70M+ | 600M+ users (UPI ID) |
| Distinctive | South Asia's first digital wallet (2009) | NP's first wallet-merger (Khalti+IMEPay, NRB-approved 2025) | NP national QR + UnionPay + UPI + Alipay+ integration | BD-dominant; mobile-money-style | IN national rail |
Status
Active, Nepal's leading digital wallet + South Asia's first 1, 2:
- eSewa (F1Soft Group subsidiary) since 2009.
- 10M+ users + 250K agents + 425K merchants + 49+ banking partners.
- All 753 NP local bodies.
- NRB-licensed PSP.
- First NP wallet to 10M Play Store downloads.
Sources
- 1 eSewa — F1Soft business profile
- 2 eSewa pioneering NP digital payments — B360
- 3 NP wallet-to-wallet transfer — TechPana
- 4 eSewa 16 years — F1Soft news
- Nepal report In-corpus:
reports/countries/NP-nepal.md
Source
Biography extracted from esewa.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.