Fonepay hosts 1st meeting of 21st APN Forum 2025 in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: Fonepay, Nepal’s leading payment network, hosted the 1st meeting of 21st Asian Payment Network (APN) Forum in Kathmandu on May 6–7.

The event marked a significant milestone in Nepal’s journey towards becoming a regional hub for digital payment innovation.

It brought together distinguished delegates from 14 APN member countries across the region to shape the future of cross-border retail payments in Asia.  

The two-day forum served as a platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and strategic dialogue among Asia’s top payment networks. It featured high-level discussions, presentations, and collaborative sessions aimed at strengthening digital financial cooperation among member nations.

The forum began with a meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar, Kathmandu. This high-level engagement underscored the importance of the event and reflected the Nepali government’s strong support for enhancing regional cooperation and innovation in digital payment sector.

The first day included APN’s annual general meeting (AGM), where key agendas covered updates to the APN Charter, progress on cross-border card and non-card payment initiatives, and the election of new sub-committee office bearers.

In a major leadership update, BancNet (Philippines) was elected as the new APN Chairman, with Fonepay (Nepal) as Vice Chairman. Rintis (Indonesia) and NAPAS (Vietnam) were elected as Business Sub-Committee Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively. Fonepay (Nepal) and UnionPay (China) were elected as Technical Sub-Committee Chairman and Vice Chairman, while NITMX (Thailand) and Artajasa (Indonesia) were elected as Risk Sub-Committee Chairman and Vice Chairman. PayNet (Malaysia) was appointed auditor, and NETS (Singapore) treasurer for the upcoming term.

The event concluded on May 7 with open day sessions, including panel discussions on fraud risk management, lessons learnt, and cross-border payment integration. During these sessions, Fonepay shared valuable insights from its own experience in regional collaborations, emphasising the importance of trust, regulatory alignment, and technology in enabling secure and scalable payment ecosystems.

"Hosting the APN Forum in Nepal signifies our growing leadership in the digital payment space. It’s an opportunity to share our learnings and collaborate with regional partners to advance inclusive and secure financial ecosystems," said Diwas Kumar, CEO of Fonepay.

Throughout the multi-day event, member countries exchanged best practices, technological advancements, and strategies to promote seamless digital payments.

About Fonepay  

Fonepay is a payment system operator facilitating inter-bank person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions through its interoperable network and mobile platforms.