Nepal’s Flood Relief Goes Digital As QR Codes Transform Disaster Donations

In Nepal, donating to a government disaster relief fund once meant carrying cash to a bank, filling out paperwork and waiting in a queue. Following the devastating floods that struck the Himalayan nation, that process has increasingly been replaced by QR codes, mobile banking and international digital payments, allowing people to contribute within minutes.

For guitarist Bobby Lama of the band Mongolian Heart, the change has been particularly striking. Lama had participated in rescue and relief efforts during the 2015 earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic, personally carrying cash to communities affected by disasters. However, the inconvenience of visiting a bank meant he had never considered donating directly to a government relief fund.

This time, after the August 26 Bhotekoshi floods, Lama simply scanned a QR code through his mobile banking application and transferred money directly to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund, according to a report in The Kathmandu Post.

His experience reflects a wider transformation in Nepal’s disaster-response system, driven by the rapid expansion of the country’s digital payments infrastructure. The technology has created a direct financial link between ordinary citizens, businesses, overseas Nepalis and the government relief fund.

Within 11 days of the floods, more than NPR 10 billion had reportedly been collected in the relief fund. Contributions came from a wide range of donors, including schoolchildren and global technology company Nvidia, highlighting the scale and diversity of the fundraising campaign.

The current effort is also significant because it represents the first time in Nepal that individuals have been able to make large-scale direct person-to-government transactions digitally, sending contributions straight into a government account. During the 2015 earthquake, such a convenient digital channel for individuals in Nepal and abroad was not available.

Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said technology had made the collection of relief funds considerably easier. For overseas donors, the government enabled direct payments through dollar-denominated cards such as Visa and Mastercard, eliminating the need for physical bank visits or complicated international bank transfers.

Data from the Finance Ministry, digital payments company Fonepay and Nepal Clearing House Ltd (NCHL) underline the growing importance of electronic transactions.

Fonepay recorded 8,89,145 transactions, of which 8,15,219 were domestic QR payments made by people within Nepal. These transactions generated around NPR 2.095 billion for the relief fund.

Through the NCHL network, 2,46,614 transactions had been recorded by Saturday afternoon. Domestic QR payments accounted for 1,12,932 of these transactions, generating approximately NPR 390.5 million.

Nepal’s electronic payment infrastructure has also enabled contributions from outside the country. More than NPR 1.4 billion was deposited directly into the relief fund through 93,850 international card transactions using Visa and Mastercard. These payments were authenticated through the 3D Secure system.

Nepal’s digital links with international payment networks have further widened access. Contributions have been made through India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), China’s Alipay, Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay. By Saturday, UPI had generated around NPR 4.854 crore, while Alipay contributed approximately NPR 1.797 crore to the relief fund.

Santosh Koirala, president of the Nepal Bankers’ Association, said the digital transformation of banks and financial institutions had removed a major barrier to disaster donations. Instead of travelling to banks and standing in queues, people can now send money through mobile banking applications.

The response has also brought Nepal’s software and IT sector into the relief effort. NAS-IT, the umbrella organisation of Nepal’s software and information technology service providers, and the Computer Association Nepal (CAN) Federation have said they are supporting rescue and reconstruction efforts through technology as well as financial assistance.

IT company Cedar Gate provided relief materials worth NPR 130,000, while F1 Soft Group donated NPR 13.5 million to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.

The flood response therefore represents more than a change in how Nepal collects donations. It demonstrates how a strengthening digital financial ecosystem can connect people at home and abroad directly with government relief mechanisms, making disaster philanthropy faster, easier and more accessible than traditional cash-based methods.