IME Pay
IME Khalti Ltd. is an NRB-licensed Nepali digital wallet and payment service provider formed by the 2025 merger of Khalti and IME Pay. It serves 10M+ consumers, 200K+ merchants, and integrates with 60+ banks, offering payments, bill pay, remittances, and lifestyle services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersKathmandu, Nepal
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What IME Pay does
IME Khalti Ltd. (operating under the brands Khalti, Khalti by IME, and IME Pay) is an NRB-licensed digital wallet and payment service provider headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. The company was formed through the 2025 merger of Khalti and IME Pay, both previously NRB-licensed PSPs, consolidating their consumer bases, merchant networks, and product offerings into a single unified platform. Its core product is the Khalti Digital Wallet, a mobile-first app distributed via Google Play and Apple App Store that enables wallet-to-wallet transfers, QR code payments, mobile topup, bill payments (electricity, water, landline, DTH, internet, insurance premium), remittance receipt, and lifestyle purchases including flights, hotels, buses, movies, events, ride-sharing, bluebook renewal, digital voting, and a marketplace ("Pasalmandu"). The platform processes 10M+ monthly transactions, serves 10M+ users and 200K+ merchants, and integrates with 60+ banks and financial institutions as BFI Partners for fund mobility.
The technology stack is built around a mobile-first digital wallet architecture with two published APIs: the Khalti Payment Gateway (KPG) for merchant web/mobile acceptance and a Billing Services API, supported by developer documentation (docs.khalti.com) and open-source GitHub repositories. Modular add-on products include Khalti Enterprise (centralized financial operations for organizations), Khalti Payment Gateway, Khalti QR Solutions, Daaami QR (post-purchase rewards plus buyer analytics), and Daaami Points (loyalty). ISO 27001:2013 and PCI DSS compliance are maintained as trust and security baselines.
The revenue model is transaction-fee driven across four streams: consumer transaction and service charges, business solutions (enterprise and payment gateway fees), travel and hospitality booking commissions, and entertainment/lifestyle commissions. GTM motion is hybrid: product-led growth for consumers via app stores, enterprise field sales for Khalti Enterprise and Payment Gateway, and a "Pasal" authorized representative network for merchant onboarding and SMB distribution. The combined entity is privately held with 251–500 employees and operates exclusively in Nepal.
IME Pay firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- IME Pay
- Legal name
- IME Khalti Ltd.
- Website
- https://imepay.com.np
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- IME Khalti Ltd. is an NRB-licensed Nepali digital wallet and payment service provider formed by the 2025 merger of Khalti and IME Pay. It serves 10M+ consumers, 200K+ merchants, and integrates with 60+ banks, offering payments, bill pay, remittances, and lifestyle services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where IME Pay is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kathmandu
- HQ country
- Nepal
- HQ region
- Asia
Markets served
IME Pay business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Transaction and Service Charges: Fees charged on various payment transactions including bill payments, fund transfers, wallet-to-wallet transactions, and merchant payments
- Business Solutions Revenue: Revenue from enterprise solutions including Khalti Enterprise, Payment Gateway API fees, and QR merchant solutions
- Travel and Hospitality Bookings: Commission from flight ticket bookings, hotel reservations, bus bookings, and cable car tickets through the platform
- Entertainment Services: Revenue from movie bookings, events, and lifestyle offerings through integrated platforms
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
IME Pay product offering
Product offeringCore offering
IME Pay operates an NRB-licensed digital wallet and payment platform in Nepal under the Khalti brand following its 2025 merger with Khalti. The platform enables consumer payments including wallet-to-wallet fund transfers, bill payments (electricity, water, internet, DTH, insurance), QR code payments, mobile topup, remittance receipt, and lifestyle bookings. For businesses, it offers Khalti Enterprise for centralized financial operations, a Payment Gateway API for web/mobile acceptance, and QR merchant solutions.
Product overview
IME Pay merged with Khalti to form Nepal's first unified payment platform — a single digital wallet ecosystem with modular add-on services. The core product is the Khalti Digital Wallet, a licensed NRB payment service enabling consumer payments, fund transfers, remittances, and lifestyle services. On top of the wallet, Khalti offers a suite of business solutions: Khalti Enterprise for organizational financial control, Khalti Payment Gateway for merchant web/mobile payment acceptance, Khalti QR Solutions and Daaami QR for QR-code merchant payments, plus vertical lifestyle modules covering movies, events, flights, ride-sharing, insurance premium payments, voting, and vehicle bluebook renewal. The platform connects to 60+ banks and financial institutions and serves 10M+ users and 200K+ merchants.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Khalti Enterprise: Business-grade solution designed for organizations that need efficient and centralized control over financial operations.
- Khalti Payment Gateway
- Khalti QR Solutions
- Daaami QR
- Khalti Suraksha
Products and services
- Khalti Digital Wallet Nepal's first unified payment platform — a licensed digital wallet enabling mobile topup, bill payments (electricity, water, landline, DTH, internet, insurance), QR code scanning, wallet-to-wallet fund transfers, remittance receipt, and in-app entertainment purchases. Available on Android and iOS for individual consumers across Nepal.
- Khalti Enterprise Business-grade solution designed for organizations requiring efficient and centralized control over financial operations, providing bulk disbursements, payroll management, and centralized financial oversight.
- Khalti Payment Gateway (KPG) API-driven payment gateway solution for accepting digital payments across web and mobile platforms, offering fast integration and complete control over transactions for merchants and developers.
- Khalti QR Solutions QR-code-based merchant payment solution enabling businesses to accept digital payments quickly and securely via customer-scannable QR codes.
- Daaami QR Post-payment engagement tool combining instant reward points with buyer analytics, designed to boost customer retention and drive repeat purchases after transactions for merchants.
Quantifiable outcome
- 10M+ users served securely
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use IME Pay
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
IME Pay technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
IME Pay partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- KhalticoreMerger of Khalti and IME Pay to create Nepal's first unified payment platform. The combined entity (IME Khalti Ltd.) brings together both user bases under single NRB license, expanding service offerings and market reach.
- 60+ Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs)coreConnected ecosystem of over 60 banks and financial institutions enabling fund transfers, wallet linking, and comprehensive digital financial service delivery across Nepal's banking network.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
IME Pay competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- eSewa: eSewa is Nepal's leading digital wallet and the most direct competitor to Khalti/IME Pay. Both target Nepali consumers and merchants with mobile wallet, QR payments, bill payments, and bank interoperability under NRB licensing, making them head-to-head for transaction volume and merchant share.
- FonePay: FonePay is a Nepal-based interoperable QR payment network backed by major BFIs and a competing digital wallet (FonePay Wallet). It competes directly with Khalti's QR Solutions and wallet-to-bank transfers, targeting the same merchant and consumer base in Nepal.
- ConnectIPS: ConnectIPS is Nepal's interbank real-time payment system operated by Nepal Clearing House. It is both a partner and a competitor: it enables bank-to-bank transfers that Khalti integrates with, but it also bypasses wallets for P2P and merchant QR, putting pressure on Khalti's transaction-fee model.
- bKash: bKash is Bangladesh's dominant mobile financial services platform, comparable in product surface (wallet, payments, merchant acquiring, agent network) and emerging-market super-app trajectory. Useful proxy for Khalti's monetization and growth benchmarks in similar regulatory and economic context.
- GCash: GCash is the Philippines' leading mobile wallet operated by Mynt/Globe Fintech. Comparable business model: consumer wallet, QR merchant acceptance, lifestyle add-ons (savings, credit, insurance), embedded financial services. Strong reference point for emerging-market wallet monetization.
Broad incumbents
- Paytm: Paytm is India's largest digital payments and financial services super-app. Operates at far larger scale but comparable product portfolio (wallet, QR, payment gateway, merchant tools, lending, insurance), making it a useful benchmark for Khalti's enterprise/payment-gateway roadmap and ARPU expansion.
- PhonePe: PhonePe is India's leading UPI-based payments app with dominant market share in QR and consumer payments. Operates at much larger scale but directly comparable in QR-led consumer payments, merchant acquiring, and embedded financial services strategy.
- Ant Group (Alipay): Ant Group operates Alipay, the global benchmark super-app combining wallet, payment gateway, merchant services, lending, and insurance. Useful reference for the long-term super-app and embedded finance trajectory Khalti is pursuing, though operating in a vastly different regulatory context.
- Stripe: Stripe is the global leader in online payment gateway infrastructure. Comparable to Khalti's Payment Gateway (KPG) product on the merchant acceptance and developer/API layer, and a benchmark for gateway pricing, developer experience, and international expansion.
Emerging players
- Remitly: Remitly is a global digital remittance platform with strong corridors into South Asia including Nepal. Comparable on the remittance-receipt use case Khalti promotes, and a relevant competitor/pricing benchmark for cross-border inflows into Nepali wallets and bank accounts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
IME Pay social profiles
Digital presenceIME Pay compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
IME Pay financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
IME Pay leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
IME Pay funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
IME Pay M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about IME Pay
What does IME Pay do?
IME Pay operates an NRB-licensed digital wallet and payment platform in Nepal under the Khalti brand following its 2025 merger with Khalti. The platform enables consumer payments including wallet-to-wallet fund transfers, bill payments (electricity, water, internet, DTH, insurance), QR code payments, mobile topup, remittance receipt, and lifestyle bookings. For businesses, it offers Khalti Enterprise for centralized financial operations, a Payment Gateway API for web/mobile acceptance, and QR merchant solutions.
Is IME Pay a public or private company?
IME Pay is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was IME Pay founded?
IME Pay was founded in 2017. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is IME Pay based?
IME Pay is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal, in the Asia region.
How does IME Pay make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Transaction and Service Charges are the primary driver. The others are business Solutions Revenue, travel and Hospitality Bookings and entertainment Services.
Who are IME Pay's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are eSewa, FonePay, ConnectIPS, bKash and GCash. Broad incumbents are Paytm, PhonePe, Ant Group (Alipay) and Stripe. Remitly is listed as an emerging player.
Does IME Pay have an API?
Yes. Khalti (the merged IME Pay platform) offers a Payment Gateway API and a Billing Services API. The Payment Gateway API provides comprehensive solutions for accepting digital payments across web and mobile platforms, built for fast integration and complete control over transactions. Khalti also maintains open-source projects on GitHub. Developer documentation is at docs.khalti.com.