Current Status of Banking in Nepal [2025]

August 28, 2025 | Investopaper

As of Ashad’s end, 2082 BS (Mid-July, 2025), 5.91 crores deposit accounts have been opened in banks and financial institutions. This is the number of accounts opened only in commercial banks, development banks, and finance companies. This number will be higher if the accounts opened in the Microfinancial institutions are also included. The number of bank accounts is more than the total population of Nepal. According to the Central Statistics Office, the total population of Nepal is almost 3 crores.

Just because there are more bank accounts than the population does not mean that all Nepalis have access to bank accounts. An individual can also open an account in more than one bank and financial institution. That is why there are more bank accounts than the population.

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Banks & Financial Institutions (BFIs) In Nepal

With the introduction of the merger by-laws, the number of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has gradually declined in Nepal. Until the end of Ashad, 2082 BS, the number of Banks and Financial Institutions has declined to 109.  The total number of BFIs (A, B & C) stood at 54. The ‘A’, ‘B’ ‘C’ and the ‘D’ class institutions have undergone merger/acquisition aggressively.

Altogether 20 commercial banks, 17 development banks, 17 finance companies, and 54 microfinance are currently operating (as of Mid-July 2025) in Nepal.

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Related: Merger/Acquisition By Commercial Banks In Nepal

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Number of BFIs And Their Branches

Until Mid-July, 2025, Commercial Banks have the highest number of branches (among A,B & C class institutions) of 5,099 while development banks and finance have 1,132 and 291 branches respectively. Similarly, microfinance institutions have 6,522 total branches.

The table below shows the number of BFIs including the ‘D’ class microfinance and their branches.

Banks/BFI Class	No. Of BFIs	No. Of Branches
Commercial Banks (A)	20	5,099
Development Banks (B)	17	1,132
Finance (C)	17	291
Microfinance (D)	54	6,522
Infrastructure Development Bank	1
Total	109	13,044

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Also Read:

Net Profit of Commercial Banks in Nepal [With Ranking]

List of Banks And Financial Institutions In Nepal

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Branches Of BFIs Based On The Province

Bagmati State has the highest penetration in terms of the number of branches of BFIs. Altogether 3,038 branches of BFIs are operating in Bagmati State. However, Karnali Province has the lowest banking exposure with only 479 banking branches available. Out of which, 238 branches are of microfinance companies.

The table below shows the branches of BFIs in the different provinces (As of Mid July 2025).

Province	A	B	C	D	Total
Koshi	763	196	36	856	1,851
Madhesh	586	84	53	1,033	1,756
Bagmati	1,843	332	109	754	3,038
Gandaki	608	191	37	563	1,399
Lumbini	748	256	47	1,096	2,147
KarnaIi	217	21	3	238	479
Sudur Paschim	334	52	6	464	856
Total	5,099	1,132	291	5,004	11,526

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Presence Of Commercial Banks at Local Level

Commercial banks have reached 750 out of 753 local levels formed after the country’s transition to federalism. After the launch of a program called ‘Bank Account for All Nepalis’, the number of bank accounts has increased due to increased financial literacy. In four states, banks have reached all local levels.

The table below shows the presence of commercial banks at the local level [ As of Mid-July 2023].

Province	Number of Local Levels	Local Levels Having Bank Branches
1	137	137
2	136	136
Bagmati	119	118
Gandaki	85	85
Lumbini	109	109
Karnali	79	78
Sudurpaschim	88	87
Total	753	750

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Deposit And Loan Accounts On BFIs

Altogether, 5.98 crores deposit account exists in the A, B, or C class banks. Out of this, commercial banks have the largest deposit accounts of 5.13 crores. Likewise, 19.61 lakh borrowers have taken loan facilities from these BFIs.

The table below presents the number of Deposit and Loan Accounts [As of Mid-July, 2025]:

BFIs	No. of Deposit Accounts	No.of Loan Accounts
A	51,380,289	1,638,285
B	7,515,806	268,817
C	985,258	54,367
Total	59,881,353	1,961,469

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Branchless Banking Centers And Customers

At current, the BFIs are operating 822 branchless banking centers. There are currently 277,680 branchless banking customers in Nepal.

BFIs	No. of Branchless Banking Centers	No. of Branchless Banking Customers
A	816	276,653
B	6	1,027
C	–	–
Total	822	277,680

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Mobile Banking, Internet Banking, And ATM Users

A, B, and C Class BFIs have opened in a total of 5,263 ATMs out of which commercial banks occupy 4,878 ATMs. The number of mobile banking users has surged rapidly in recent times. Altogether 2.77 crores customers are currently taking banking services through the use of mobile banking. Likewise, 22.19 lakh users are involved in the internet banking service.

See the current data (Mid-July 2025) related to mobile banking, internet banking, and ATMs in the table below:

BFIs	A	B	C	Total
No. of Mobile Banking Customers	23,787,529	3,659,016	294,739	27,741,284
No. of Internet Banking Customers	1,601,513	599,316	18,512	2,219,341
No. of ATMs	4,878	344	41	5,263

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Debit Cards, Credit Cards, And Prepaid Cards

With the banks creating awareness and providing various discounts on the use of cards for day to day transactions, there is decent growth in the number of cardholders. As of Ashad’s end 2082 BS [Mid July 2025], a total of 1.36 crore customers are users of debit cards while 3.18 lakh bank customers use credit cards. Similarly, 2.5 lakh customers are involved in the usage of prepaid cards.

BFIs	A	B	C	Total
No. of Debit Cards	12,373,593	1,216,322	75,877	13,665,792
No. of Credit Cards	315,138	3,290	–	318,428
No. of Prepaid Cards	245,992	4,092	–	250,084

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