What was changed
When Biswas Dhakal founded F1Soft in 2004, Nepal had virtually no internet or smartphone penetration and over 95% of transactions were conducted in cash. The early fintech landscape offered no established digital payment infrastructure, making it difficult to reach the majority of the population.
Dhakal’s strategic decision was to focus on the unbanked by launching eSewa, the country’s first mobile wallet, and constructing a nationwide agent network to bring digital services to remote areas. Later, F1Soft developed the Fonepay QR payment system, integrating with international partners such as China UnionPay, Alipay, Visa and India’s NPCI, enabling cross‑border transactions and processing roughly 2 billion Nepal rupees per day.
What it achieved
F1Soft serves >90% of Nepal’s banks; its gateway reaches 5 M users, and Fonepay QR processes ~2 B rupees (~US$16.7 M) daily, greatly expanding digital payments.
Why it worked
To reach the unbanked majority in a cash‑heavy economy where traditional banking infrastructure was limited.
To create a scalable, interoperable payment platform that could connect with regional and global networks, increasing utility for users and merchants.
To capitalize on growing remittance flows and foreign investment interest in Nepal’s digital economy.
What can be applied
In emerging markets, building agent networks for the unbanked and leveraging interoperable QR payment standards can drive rapid adoption and scale financial services even when cash remains king.
Aftermath
By 2022, F1Soft’s solutions were used by over 90% of Nepal’s banks, the eSewa wallet had millions of users, and the Fonepay QR system facilitated daily transactions worth about 2 billion Nepal rupees. The company continued to expand its agent network and explored enabling Nepali users to make payments abroad via Fonepay, positioning itself as a key driver of financial inclusion in South Asia.
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