NCRA launches online registration software for savings and credit cooperatives

LALITPUR: The National Cooperatives Regulatory Authority (NCRA) has launched software for the registration of cooperatives whose principal operations are savings and credit. The NCRA held a programme in Lalitpur on Wednesday to formally begin registration through an automated online system.

At the programme, NCRA chair Dr Khagaraj Sharma said arrangements have been made for cooperatives to become members of the Credit Information Centre and that the system will also make it easier for them to be included in the Deposit and Credit Protection Fund.

Sharma emphasised the need to address money laundering and to bring cooperatives into a specific system, and said all sides should work together to solve the problems plaguing the sector.

Vice president of the National Cooperative Federation of Nepal (NCF), DB Basnet, urged smooth management of the system and asked the Authority’s staff to facilitate registration and documentation by supporting and coordinating with cooperative organisations.

Treasurer of the Nepal Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperative Unions (NEFSCUN), Deepak Thapa, said cooperative organisations need financial support and facilitation, and emphasised that the NCRA should act as a facilitator rather than a "ruler".

Chief executive officer of the National Co-operative Bank, Badri Kumar Guragain, expressed confidence that the system now in operation will help manage data and address money laundering.

The government formed the National Cooperatives Regulatory Authority in January 2025 to regulate, supervise and monitor financial cooperatives registered to deal with savings and credit across the country.

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