KATHMANDU, 20 March 2026: Visa is bankrolling a survey to demonstrate the level of digital payment adoption in the city’s popular Thamel district, which is visited by 80% of all tourists to the Nepalese capital.
Visa and its project partner, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter, launched the baseline survey phase of the ‘Cross-Border (XB) Acceptance in Thamel’ initiative earlier this week.
PATA Nepal Chapter has engaged 30 tourism and hospitality students from its educational member institutions to conduct a survey assessing how small and medium enterprises in Thamel are meeting the challenges of adopting digital payment systems and participating in cross-border commerce.
The study has the backing and support of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), and the Thamel Tourism Development Council (TTDC).
Survey objectives will focus on measuring the current status of digital payment usage, merchant readiness, challenges, and knowledge gaps among SMEs operating in Thamel.
PATA Nepal Chapter CEO Suresh Singh Budal said: “At PATA Nepal, we are committed to enabling our tourism SMEs to thrive in a digital-first global economy, with Thamel serving as a model destination. We sincerely thank Visa, NTB, TTDC, and CNI for their collaboration and support in this initiative.”
The project will later implement training programs, merchant engagement activities, and capacity-building initiatives to create a replicable model for SME digital transformation in other tourism destinations across Nepal.
Thamel is an iconic district in Kathmandu, famed for its maze of lanes and alleys packed with shops, restaurants and rooftop bars. The longest street in Thamel is known as Thamel Marg, a hive of jewellery shops, trekking stores, and souvenir shops. Chaksibari Street, also one of the longest streets in Thamel, is famous for trekking gear stores, travel agents, and book shops.
(Source: PATA Chapter Nepal)
