Identity verification in Nepal
Executive summary. Nepal is a Tier-2, cash-heavy but rapidly digitising South Asian market of roughly 31 million people where identity verification is being rewired in real time. Three facts dominate the landscape for any regulated operator: (1) On 21 February 2025, the Financial Action Task Force returned Nepal to its grey list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring, imposing a two-year acti
Documents supported
(Government IDs from 220+ countries)
Average verification time
Countries covered
(Government-issued IDs validated)
Market overview
Nepal has a population of approximately 31 million, a federal parliamentary republic structure with seven provinces, and a GDP driven by remittances (roughly a quarter of GDP), tourism, hydropower and agriculture. The financial sector is supervised by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank, and consists of Class A commercial banks, Class B development banks, Class C finance companies and Class D microfinance institutions, alongside a fast-growing licensed payment service provider and payment system operator segment. Four KYC-relevant verticals matter for Didit:
Supported documents
Didit templates cover national IDs, passports, residence permits and regional documents — plus 14,000+ documents globally for cross-border flows.
Regulators
AML supervisor
Ministry of Home Affairs
regulated
National ID card with biometrics being rolled out. NIN (National Identity Number) assigned. Electronic verification API being developed for KYC use.
Ministry of Home Affairs
restricted
Civil registry. Nagarikta (citizenship certificate) traditionally used for identity. Digitization in progress.
Government & regulated databases
Compliance framework
AML framework
Supervised by Asset
- Asset (Money) Laundering Prevention Act, 2064 (2008) — the AML backbone (commonly abbreviated ALPA or "AML Act"). Amended in 2011, 2014, 2016, 2019 and most recently in 2080 B.S. (2024). Defines ML and TF offences, obliged entities, customer due diligence, beneficial ownership, record keeping, and investigative powers. The 2024 amendment expanded investigative authority beyond DMLI to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and Nepal Police for predicate-offence-linked ML
Data protection
Supervised by National DPA
Use cases
Neobanks, EMIs, payment institutions, lenders, brokerages.
A Class A commercial bank or NRB-licensed PSP onboarding a Nepali retail customer in 2026 runs:
Exchanges, custodians, wallets, on/off-ramps.
Not applicable. Virtual-asset services are prohibited for Nepali residents by NRB under the NRB Act 2002 and the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act 1962. Any KYC vendor marketing into Nepal must exclude Nepali-resident crypto use cases and cannot license local operators.
Sports betting, online casinos, age-gated platforms.
Online gambling is prohibited. For land-based casinos licensed under the Casino Regulation 2013, the KYC flow is radically different from banking because the product is legally restricted to non-Nepalis:
Gig platforms, delivery, creator economy, e-commerce.
Marketplace, ride-hailing and delivery platforms in Nepal (Pathao, inDrive, Foodmandu) are not classical obliged entities under ALPA but inherit KYC obligations through their payment integrations with eSewa, Khalti by IME and card acquirers. Driver and rider onboarding typically requires NIC or Naga
Biometric liveness
NRB's AML/CFT Directives do not yet prescribe a specific biometric liveness standard (such as ISO/IEC 30107-3 Level 2) in binding text, but the 2025 STR/SAR Guidelines explicitly embrace a "digitally integrated, AI-supported" framework and anticipate centralised biometric verification against NIMIS. In practice, Class A banks and licensed PSPs already run selfie capture with passive or active liveness and face match against the NIC / Nagarikta photo. A PAD-compliant (Presentation Attack Detectio
CERTIFICATIONS
Our platform meets the highest international standards for information security, data privacy, and biometric accuracy.
Full EU data protection compliance
Information security management
PAD (liveness + face match)
TRUSTED WORLDWIDE
Join thousands of companies that trust Didit for their verification needs
Didit’s NFC + active biometrics technology blocks the most advanced fraud scenarios, offering a level of security equivalent to or superior to in-person verification.
Spanish Financial Sandbox
CNMV, SEPBLAC & Spanish Treasury — Conclusions Report
Didit is an exceptionally valuable partner, delivering a stable and highly adaptable solution”.
Vuk Adžić
Head of the E-Business Department at Crnogorski Telekom
Didit offered us a robust technology with a simple implementation and adaptability to different markets”.
Fernando Pinto
CEO & CoFounder at TucanPay
Thanks to Didit we have been able to reduce manual processes and improve data extraction accuracy”.
Diana Garcia
Trust & Safety Executive at Shiply
Didit’s integration slashed verification times and costs, freeing resources for other projects”.
Guillem Medina
COO at GBTC Finance
Didit removed KYC costs, enabling faster scaling with high verification standards and less fraud.”
Paul Martin
VP Marketing & Growth at Bondex
Didit’s secure, user-friendly verification boosts customer trust and optimizes our process.”
Cristofer Montenegro
Executive assistant to the CEO at Adelantos
Didit ensures a precise, secure digital onboarding without slowing negotiations or client time.”
Ernesto Betancourth
Gerente de riesgos at CrediDemo
FAQ
Yes. Nepal permits remote KYC onboarding under its national AML framework, including document verification, biometric liveness and video identification where required by regulation.
Didit verifies all major national IDs, passports and residence permits issued in Nepal, plus 14,000+ document types globally for cross-border flows.
Didit charges $0.30 per verification with 500 free checks per month. No contracts, no minimums. Competitors typically charge $1.00–$2.50+ per verification.
Yes. Didit screens against 1,000+ global watchlists including PEP databases, sanctions lists (EU, UN, OFAC, OFSI), and adverse media — covering all AML obligations in Nepal.
Most regulated sectors in Nepal require or strongly recommend biometric liveness detection for remote onboarding. Didit provides ISO 30107-3 PAD Level 2 certified liveness.
Yes. Didit supports document verification, liveness, AML screening and ongoing monitoring aligned with Nepal’s crypto regulatory framework, including EU Travel Rule compliance where applicable.
Yes. Didit provides document-based age verification and identity confirmation suitable for Nepal’s iGaming regulatory requirements.
500 free verifications per month. No contracts, no minimums. $0.30 per verification after the free tier.
