The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has announced that a National ID will be mandatory to open accounts in banks and financial institutions (BFIs) starting Tuesday, January 14.  

Amending the Unified Directive, 2080, the central bank on Thursday, January 9, informed about the new requirement.

The provision mandates that, from January 14 onward, banks and financial institutions must verify customer details through the electronic archive of the National ID. Account openings must be facilitated using the National ID card or National ID number.  

For government-related payments, such as social security, accounts can be opened using details provided by the respective government body. However, the directive stresses that customer identification must still be verified before funds are withdrawn from such accounts.  

This decision follows an amendment to the Assets (Money) Laundering Prevention Rules, 2081, made a few months ago. The amendment allows reporting institutions to use electronic archives maintained by the government during the issuance of citizenship or National IDs for customer identification. This change paved the way for the central bank’s directive, enabling banks and financial institutions to rely on citizenship and National ID details for customer verification.