From bank queues to QR codes: Nepal’s digital shift in philanthropy

Kathmandu: Once, donating to government relief funds in Nepal meant carrying cash, finding a bank and standing in a queue. Now, for many, it takes just a phone, a few taps and a QR code scan.

For guitarist Bobby Lama of the band Mongolian Heart, the change was personal.

During the 2015 earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic, Lama joined rescue and relief efforts, carrying cash

himself to communities in need. The hassle of going to a bank meant he never considered donating to a government relief fund.

This time, after devastating floods hit the Himalayan nation, he simply scanned a QR code and sent money directly to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund through mobile banking, according to The Kathmandu Post newspaper.

Lama’s experience reflects a broader shift in the way Nepal is responding to disasters, with the country’s rapidly expanding digital payments infrastructure connecting ordinary citizens, businesses and overseas donors directly

with a government relief fund. By the 11th day after the devastating August 26 Bhotekoshi floods, more than NPR 10 billion had been collected in the relief fund, the Post report said.

The contributions have ranged from schoolchildren to global tech giant Nvidia.

The campaign marks the first time in Nepal that individuals have been able to make direct person-to-government transactions.