# Fonepay

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/fonepay
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-07
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [Fonepay — official](https://fonepay.com/)

## Overview

**Fonepay** is **Nepal's national QR payment network**, operated by **Fonepay Payment Service Limited** — an **F1Soft Group sister-company** to eSewa <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Nepal report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/NP)</sup>. **20+ million users + 1.7+ million merchants + all 77 NP districts** covered.

**March 30, 2025 — Fonepay set single-day record**: **1,002,702 merchant QR payments + Rs 26.28 billion volume in one day** <sup>[3][3]</sup>.

**Cross-border integration record (2025)**:
- **March 2025 — One year of cross-border UPI QR payments** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: UPI transactions in Nepal crossed **1 million + Rs 2 billion total value**.
- **August 2025 — Alipay+ partnership** [[wiki-fonepay-alipay]]: Enables cross-border QR payments from Alipay+ partner wallets in Nepal.
- **May 2026 — UnionPay International integration** <sup>[5][5]</sup>: UnionPay users make QR-based payments at 2+ million merchants across Nepal.

**Tourism context**: Nepal welcomed **1.15+ million tourists in 2025** — Fonepay's cross-border integration accepts international travellers from 11+ countries including China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Germany, Italy.

## History

**2010 — Fonepay launches by F1Soft** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Nepal's pioneering QR + payment network.

**2010-2024 — Nationwide expansion** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: All 77 NP districts, multi-million users + merchants.

**March 2024 — Cross-border UPI launches** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: Nepal ↔ India UPI inbound payments.

**March 30, 2025 — Single-day record**: 1M+ QR transactions, Rs 26.28B volume <sup>[3][3]</sup>.

**August 2025 — Alipay+ partnership** [[wiki-fonepay-alipay]].

**May 2026 — UnionPay International integration** <sup>[5][5]</sup>.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **Fonepay Payment Service Limited** — sister-company to eSewa under F1Soft Group.

**Parent**: **F1Soft Group** (Nepal fintech conglomerate).

**Regulator**: **Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)**.

## Technical integration

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Type** | Nepal national QR payment network + interbank rail (not consumer wallet — payment network supporting wallets/banks) |
| **National rail** | **[Fonepay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/fonepay)** (Nepal national QR standard) |
| **Cross-border** | UPI (India inbound, Mar 2024+) + Alipay+ (Aug 2025+) + UnionPay International (May 2026+) |
| **Merchants** | 1.7+ million |
| **Users** | 20+ million (via affiliated banks + wallets) |
| **Coverage** | All 77 NP districts |
| **Tourism inbound** | 11+ countries (China + SK + MY + SG + PH + TH + DE + IT etc.) |

## Users & growth

**2025 baseline** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:
- **Users**: 20+ million (via affiliated banks + wallets)
- **Merchants**: 1.7+ million
- **Coverage**: All 77 NP districts
- **March 30, 2025 single-day record**: 1,002,702 merchant QR payments / Rs 26.28B
- **March 2025 UPI cumulative**: 1M+ transactions / Rs 2B value (1-year)

**Tourism (2025)**: **1.15M+ tourists** welcomed; FonePay supports 11+ inbound-country wallets.

## Use cases

Merchant QR payments (Nepal national rail); P2P transfers via bank/wallet integration; cross-border inbound tourist payments (UPI India + Alipay+ partners + UnionPay International); merchant onboarding via affiliated banks/wallets.

## Implementations & partners

**Operator**: **Fonepay Payment Service Limited** (F1Soft Group).

**Affiliated wallets**: **[eSewa](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/esewa)** (F1Soft sister; 10M+ users), **[Khalti](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/khalti)** (Janaki Technology), **IME Pay** (Global IME Bank-affiliated).

**Cross-border partners**: **NPCI (UPI India)** + **Ant Group (Alipay+)** + **UnionPay International**.

**Regulator**: **Nepal Rastra Bank**.

## Fun facts

- **20M+ users + 1.7M+ merchants** — Nepal's dominant QR rail.
- **All 77 NP districts** covered.
- **March 30, 2025 single-day record**: 1M+ QR transactions + Rs 26.28B.
- **First Nepali rail with cross-border UPI** (March 2024+).
- **Alipay+ partnership August 2025**.
- **UnionPay International integration May 2026** — 2M+ NP merchants accept UnionPay.
- **11+ tourist-inbound countries** supported.
- **F1Soft Group sister to eSewa** — distinctive integrated NP fintech ecosystem.

## Comparison

| Feature | Fonepay | [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr) (India cross-border interop) | [DuitNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/duitnow-qr) (MY) | [Unified Cross-Border QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/unified-cross-border-qr) (China) | [PromptPay QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/promptpay-qr) (TH cross-border interop) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **Fonepay Payment Service Limited (F1Soft sister)** | NPCI India | PayNet | China UnionPay + PCAC | BoT |
| Type | **NP national QR rail + cross-border inbound (UPI + Alipay+ + UnionPay)** | IN national A2A rail + cross-border (NP + SG + AE + FR) | MY national QR | China cross-border QR | TH national QR + cross-border (8 ASEAN) |
| Country | Nepal | India | Malaysia | China | Thailand |
| Users | **20M+ via affiliated wallets/banks** | 600M+ UPI IDs | National | China-scale | 60M+ |
| Cross-border inbound | **UPI + Alipay+ + UnionPay (Mar 2024-May 2026)** | TH + SG + UAE + FR via bilateral | Singapore PayNow + IN | Alipay+ + UnionPay | 8 ASEAN PromptPay |

## Status

**Active, Nepal's dominant national QR rail with cross-border interop** <sup>[1][1], [3][3]</sup>:
- **Fonepay Payment Service Limited** (F1Soft Group sister to eSewa) since 2010.
- **20M+ users + 1.7M+ merchants + all 77 NP districts**.
- **March 30, 2025 single-day record**: 1M+ QR txn / Rs 26.28B.
- **Cross-border UPI (Mar 2024) + Alipay+ (Aug 2025) + UnionPay (May 2026)**.
- **NRB-regulated**.

## Sources

[1]: https://fonepay.com/ "Fonepay — official"
[2]: https://fonepay.com/blogs/qr-payment-in-nepal "Fonepay QR payment NP — Fonepay blog"
[3]: https://fonepay.com/blogs/Fonepay-QR-1-Million-transactions "Fonepay 1M single-day record — Fonepay blog"
[4]: https://www.sharesansar.com/newsdetail/fonepay-completes-one-year-of-cross-border-upi-qr-payments-in-nepal-2025-03-19 "Fonepay 1 year cross-border UPI — Sharesansar"
[5]: https://kathmandupost.com/money/2026/05/29/fonepay-integrates-unionpay-into-qr-network-for-foreign-travellers-in-nepal "Fonepay × UnionPay May 2026 — Kathmandu Post"
[wiki-fonepay-alipay]: https://kathmandupost.com/money/2025/08/30/fonepay-partners-with-alipay-to-enable-cross-border-qr-payments-in-nepal "Fonepay × Alipay+ — Kathmandu Post"
[np-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/NP

- [1] [Fonepay — official][1]
- [2] [Fonepay QR payment NP — Fonepay blog][2]
- [3] [Fonepay 1M single-day record — Fonepay blog][3]
- [4] [Fonepay 1 year cross-border UPI — Sharesansar][4]
- [5] [Fonepay × UnionPay May 2026 — Kathmandu Post][5]
- [wiki-fonepay-alipay] [Fonepay × Alipay+ — Kathmandu Post][wiki-fonepay-alipay]
- <sup>[Nepal report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/NP)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/NP-nepal.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [fonepay.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/fonepay). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.