Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has directed banks and financial institutions in Nepal to appoint designated focal persons to respond to electronic financial fraud during the Dashain, Tihar and Chhath holidays. The arrangement is intended to keep fraud-related information moving promptly, help institutions identify suspicious accounts and transactions, and support efforts to freeze stolen money while festival-period services are covered around the clock.
Round-the-clock response during major festivals
The central bank has ordered banks and payment service providers to maintain contacts available 24 hours a day during the major festivals. By requiring designated points of contact, the measure is meant to make it possible for relevant institutions to share details of suspected electronic fraud without waiting for normal office hours. The instruction applies during the holiday period associated with Dashain, Tihar and Chhath.
A focal person gives institutions a designated contact for handling reports and coordinating a response. In cases involving suspected digital fraud, prompt communication can help banks and payment providers alert one another to accounts or transactions that may need closer attention. NRB’s stated objectives include the rapid exchange of fraud details, quicker identification of suspicious activity and the freezing of funds that have been stolen.
The round-the-clock requirement is significant because the response mechanism is intended to remain available through festival holidays, rather than being limited to ordinary working hours. The central bank’s instruction covers both banks and payment service providers, reflecting the need for contact between institutions involved in electronic financial services when a suspicious transaction is reported.
Focus on identifying suspicious accounts and transactions
The directive places emphasis on timely information-sharing as well as the appointment of named contacts. When details about an electronic financial fraud are shared promptly, institutions can work to identify accounts and transactions that appear suspicious. The intended next step is to help prevent funds from being moved further by enabling stolen money to be frozen.
NRB has not described the arrangement as a guarantee that every case will be resolved or that funds will always be recovered. Instead, the instructions establish a response channel and set out practical objectives for institutions during the holidays. The effectiveness of the process will depend on the availability of the designated contacts and the timely sharing of relevant information when suspicious activity is identified.
For customers, the measure concerns how institutions respond to reports of electronic fraud during the major festival period. The central bank’s focus is on institutional coordination: banks and payment providers are expected to have contacts available to receive and share information, allowing suspected accounts and transactions to be examined and stolen funds to be frozen where possible. The instruction is not a change to the definition of fraud or a public warning about a specific incident.
NRB explores AI-assisted recovery
Alongside the holiday contact arrangements, NRB is exploring the use of artificial intelligence to assist with recovery. The central bank’s consideration of AI-assisted recovery adds a technology component to its efforts, although the available information does not set out how such a system would work, when it might be introduced or what institutions would be involved.
The AI effort remains under exploration, while the appointment of focal persons and the round-the-clock contacts are measures that banks and payment service providers have been directed to put in place for the festival period. The two elements therefore have different statuses: institutions have been instructed to maintain holiday contacts, while the central bank is considering whether AI could assist the recovery process.
Together, the instructions emphasize readiness and coordination during Dashain, Tihar and Chhath. NRB wants institutions to be reachable at all hours, to exchange information about electronic financial fraud quickly, and to identify suspicious accounts and transactions so that stolen funds can be frozen. The central bank is also examining AI-assisted recovery as a possible additional tool.
