COD, eSewa, Khalti and Fonepay: Payments for Online Stores

If you sell online in Nepal, you have to answer one question early: how will customers pay? The answer shapes your conversion, your cash flow and the number of orders that end in a failed delivery. Most shops need cash on delivery plus at least one digital option. This article explains how to set up both sensibly, and how to avoid common traps, without promising anything that depends on third parties.

Why cash on delivery still matters

Many buyers are still cautious about paying a website they have never used, especially for the first order. COD removes that fear. It also brings risk: the buyer can refuse the parcel, may not answer the phone or may have ordered for fun. Every failed delivery costs you packing, courier fees and the time stock was blocked.

Reduce failed COD deliveries

• Confirm every COD order by call or message before dispatch. Ask the customer to confirm the address and a landmark.
• Set a minimum order value or limit COD for very high-value items.
• Offer a small incentive for advance payment, if your margins allow.
• Capture an alternate phone number at checkout.
• Record failure reasons so you can see whether the issue is address, price or impulse orders.
• For remote areas or fragile items, ask for advance payment or part payment.

Digital payment options

Wallets and QR payments are used widely in Nepal, and shoppers like the convenience. Typical ways a shop can accept them:

Method	How it works	Considerations
Manual QR or wallet transfer	Customer pays to your QR or account and sends the reference	Simple to start; needs staff to check each payment
Bank transfer	Customer deposits to your account	Slower confirmation, reconciliation by hand
Integrated checkout	Customer pays on the provider's page and returns to the shop	Automatic payment status; needs merchant onboarding and technical credentials

The website can be configured to integrate with providers such as eSewa, Khalti and Fonepay, subject to your merchant account approval and their own technical requirements and fees. WebsNP does not represent or partner with these providers; each shop applies directly. Ask the provider about documents needed, onboarding time, settlement schedule, charges and refund handling before you plan your launch date.

Things to confirm with any payment provider

1. What documents do you need: business registration, PAN or VAT, bank account, owner identity?
2. What fees apply per transaction, and who bears them?
3. When does money reach your bank account?
4. How are refunds and disputes handled?
5. Is there a test environment so you can try payments before going live?
6. What happens when a customer pays but the connection drops before returning to your site?

Order status and payment status are different

A common mistake is to treat "paid" and "delivered" as the same thing. Track both. A good store lets you mark an order as placed, confirmed, packed, dispatched, delivered, returned or cancelled, and separately as unpaid, paid, partially paid or refunded. This clears up confusion with COD orders, where payment happens at delivery, and with manual QR orders, where payment waits for verification.

Accounting and VAT notes

Every digital sale should be traceable to an order and an invoice. If you are VAT-registered, invoices need correct VAT details and your sales record should match your returns. Check current billing and electronic invoicing requirements with your accountant or the Inland Revenue Department; the store can produce invoices and order records but cannot decide compliance for you. For back-office books, see our accounting software page.

Refunds and returns

Decide your refund method before you receive a return. For COD orders refused at the door, nothing is refunded. For returned items after delivery, state whether you refund to the original wallet or bank account, issue store credit or exchange. Put the process on a policy page with a time limit and the condition of the goods. Refunding quickly and politely earns repeat customers in a market where reputation travels by word of mouth.

Protect customers and yourself

• Never ask customers to send card or wallet PINs or OTPs by chat.
• Show your real business name, address and phone on the site.
• Confirm every payment before shipping and keep screenshots as secondary evidence only.
• Use a separate business account for online receipts if you can.

Read how these choices fit into a full store project on our ecommerce website page.

Your next step

Decide which two payment options you can run on launch day, and start the merchant application for any integrated one now because approvals take time. Then message WebsNP on WhatsApp at +977 9846280400 to plan a store that works with COD from day one and is ready for digital payments as soon as your provider approves you.

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