NRB Fintech Innovation Showcase 2026: Date, Venue, Format and How Fintechs Can Take Part

As of 12 October 2026 (26 Asoj 2083). Based on the official event flyer published by Nepal Rastra Bank’s Payment Systems Department on 12 October 2026, plus NRB’s own notices on its innovation hub and regulatory sandbox.

The NRB Fintech Innovation Showcase 2026 will be held on Monday, 2 November 2026, from 10 AM to 4 PM at Nepal Rastra Bank in Baluwatar, Kathmandu. It is a one-day event run by the central bank’s Payment Systems Department. NRB describes it as a platform for fintech innovators to showcase their new ideas and innovations.

That is a rare setting. Fintech founders in Nepal usually meet the regulator across a licensing desk. Here the regulator is the host, and the audience is made up of banks, payment companies, remittance firms, development partners and government agencies.

NRB has published a one-page flyer so far. This article sets out everything it confirms, what it leaves open, and how a fintech team can use the three weeks before the event.

Quick facts

What is the NRB Fintech Innovation Showcase 2026?

It is NRB’s own exhibition day for financial technology. The flyer gives its purpose in one line: a platform for fintech innovators to showcase their new ideas and innovations.

The organiser matters as much as the event. The Payment Systems Department is the unit of NRB that licenses and supervises payment service providers and payment system operators, the companies behind Nepal’s wallets, QR networks and switches. The same department wrote the regulatory sandbox guidelines and the five-year fintech strategy this year.

So this is the regulator inviting innovators into its own building, not a trade fair with a regulator as chief guest.

Date, time and venue

• Date: Monday, 2 November 2026
• Time: 10 AM to 4 PM, a single six-hour day
• Venue: Nepal Rastra Bank, Baluwatar, Kathmandu

The event falls three weeks after the notice. If you are travelling from Pokhara, Butwal or Biratnagar with demo equipment, plan to reach Kathmandu a day early. Government premises usually have entry checks, so carry your citizenship or company ID and confirm entry arrangements with NRB beforehand.

How the showcase will run

The flyer lists three parts under the heading of showcase modality.

The third column is our reading, not NRB’s wording. The flyer does not publish a session schedule, speaker names or the number of stalls.

Who will be in the room

The flyer names the participants as NRB employees and invitees from six groups:

• BFIs, meaning banks and financial institutions
• Payment institutions
• Remittance companies
• Development partners
• Government ministries and agencies
• Media

For a fintech startup this is the full chain it normally has to chase one meeting at a time. Banks and payment institutions are potential partners and customers. Remittance companies are a route into one of Nepal’s largest money flows. Development partners fund pilots. Ministries and agencies decide what gets adopted in public services.

The flyer talks about invitees. It does not say the event is open to the general public, and it does not mention tickets.

How fintechs can take part in the NRB Fintech Innovation Showcase 2026

Here the flyer is brief. It does not publish an application form, a deadline, a stall fee or selection criteria. It says that for more details you should contact NRB by phone or email.

So the practical route, for now, is to ask directly. These steps are our suggestion, not an official process.

1. Email dfih@nrb.org.np. Introduce your company in three or four lines and say you want to showcase at the event on 2 November.
2. Attach a one-page brief. Cover the problem you solve, the product, its stage, any NRB licence or partner bank you already have, and what you would show on the day.
3. Ask the open questions. Is there a form or deadline? Is there a stall fee? Can a company without an NRB licence exhibit? What space, power and internet will be provided?
4. Follow up by phone. Call +977-1-5719644 or 5719645 and ask for extension 1354, 1356, 1367 or 1368.
5. Get the answer in writing. A confirmation email saves confusion at the gate.

Do this early. Three weeks is a short window and stall space in one building is limited.

What is the Digital Finance Innovation Hub (DiFi-Hub)?

The event’s contact email begins with the letters DFIH. Those initials match NRB’s Digital Finance Innovation Hub, which the bank calls DiFi-Hub. The flyer does not spell out the connection, but the hub is worth knowing either way.

NRB announced the hub in a notice dated 2081/12/14, published on 27 March 2025 by the Payment Systems Department. According to that notice, the hub was set up at the bank to:

• inform financial innovators about existing policy and regulatory provisions;
• analyse innovative proposals and the opportunities and challenges they bring;
• give a regulatory viewpoint, non-binding guidance, consultation and suggestions;
• make the regulator easier to reach, so that innovation is encouraged.

NRB’s own explainer from August 2026 describes DiFi-Hub as the mechanism through which the bank coordinates with other regulators, financial innovators and the private sector on technology-based financial services.

One point to keep straight: the flyer does not list guidance sessions at the event itself. What NRB has in writing is that the hub exists to give non-binding guidance. If guidance is what you need, ask the hub for it directly, with or without a stall.

Where the showcase fits: sandbox, strategy and hub

The showcase is the fourth fintech step from the same department in a little over eighteen months.

Each one does a different job.

Two sandbox details are useful for planning. NRB’s guidelines say the application and evaluation phase should generally finish within 120 working days of the application window opening. They also say NRB may invite applications for a limited number of themed cohorts each year.

We covered the strategy in detail in our piece on NRB’s five-year fintech strategy.

One more point, to avoid confusion. The Nepal Fintech Expo 2026, held from 9 to 11 October in Lalitpur, was a separate, private-sector event organised by FinTech Alliance Nepal. The showcase on 2 November is NRB’s own.

How to prepare a stall or demo

If you get a place, the audience will be regulators and institutions, not retail users. Prepare for that. This is our own advice, not NRB’s.

1. One sentence first. State the problem and who has it, before any feature. A visitor should understand your product in ten seconds.
2. A demo that works offline. Venue internet fails at the worst moment. Keep a recorded walkthrough on the device as a backup.
3. A compliance one-pager. Say which licence you hold or which licensed partner you work with, where customer data is stored, and how you handle KYC and fraud. At a central bank this is the first question, not the last.
4. A clear ask. A pilot with one bank, a sandbox slot, a policy clarification. Write it on the stall.
5. A way to follow up. A QR code to a short form beats a stack of visiting cards.

Founders working on QR and wallet products may also find our explainers on what NCHL does and on Fonepay’s newest services useful background.

What is not known yet

NRB has not published these details as of 12 October 2026:

• how innovators are selected, and whether there is a form or deadline
• whether stalls are free or paid
• how many stalls there will be
• the session schedule and speakers
• whether the public or students can attend
• whether guidance desks will run during the event

We will update this article when NRB publishes more. Until then, the phone numbers and email on the flyer are the only official channel.

Frequently asked questions

When and where is the NRB Fintech Innovation Showcase 2026?

On Monday, 2 November 2026, from 10 AM to 4 PM, at Nepal Rastra Bank in Baluwatar, Kathmandu. It is organised by NRB’s Payment Systems Department.

Who can attend the NRB fintech showcase?

The flyer lists NRB employees and invitees from banks and financial institutions, payment institutions, remittance companies, development partners, government ministries and agencies, and the media. It does not say the event is open to the public.

How can a fintech startup apply for a stall?

NRB has not published an application form or deadline. The flyer asks interested parties to contact the bank at +977-1-5719644 or 5719645, extensions 1354, 1356, 1367 or 1368, or by email at dfih@nrb.org.np.

Is there a fee to take part?

The flyer does not mention any fee. Confirm this with NRB when you contact them.

Is this the same as the Nepal Fintech Expo 2026?

No. The Nepal Fintech Expo was held from 9 to 11 October 2026 in Lalitpur and was organised by FinTech Alliance Nepal. The showcase on 2 November is organised by Nepal Rastra Bank at its own premises.

What is NRB’s DiFi-Hub?

The Digital Finance Innovation Hub is a mechanism inside NRB, announced in March 2025, that gives financial innovators information on existing rules and non-binding guidance on new proposals.

Conclusion

The NRB Fintech Innovation Showcase 2026 puts fintech innovators, licensed institutions and the regulator in one building for one day: 2 November 2026, 10 AM to 4 PM, at NRB in Baluwatar. The format is confirmed as stalls, engagement exercises and group sessions. The way in is not yet published, so the next step is simple: email or call the Payment Systems Department this week and ask.

Whether or not you get a stall, the hub behind that email address exists to answer regulatory questions from innovators. For an early-stage fintech in Nepal, that conversation may be worth more than the exhibition itself.

Sources

• Nepal Rastra Bank, Payment Systems Department, NRB Fintech Innovation Showcase Event 2026 flyer, published 12 October 2026: https://www.nrb.org.np/contents/uploads/2026/10/Nepal-Rastra-Bank_Event-Flyer.pdf
• Nepal Rastra Bank, Payment Systems Department notices: https://www.nrb.org.np/departments/psd/
• Nepal Rastra Bank, notice on the establishment of the Digital Finance Innovation Hub, dated 2081/12/14: https://www.nrb.org.np/contents/uploads/2025/03/Digital-Finance-Innovation-Hub-%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B-%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE-1.pdf
• Nepal Rastra Bank, Guidelines on the Regulatory Sandbox, effective 14 May 2026: https://www.nrb.org.np/contents/uploads/2026/06/Guidelines-on-the-Regulatory-Sandbox-1.pdf
• Nepal Rastra Bank, Strategic Framework of the Fintech Strategy for Digital Financial Services (2026/27-2030/31), published 15 September 2026: https://www.nrb.org.np/psd/strategic-framework-of-the-fintech-strategy-for-digital-financial-services-2026-27-2030-31/

Digital Solution Pvt. Ltd. is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with Nepal Rastra Bank. Event details are taken from NRB’s flyer; the preparation tips and the reading of the format are our own. Confirm arrangements with NRB before you travel.

Written by

Rabin Paudel

Rabin Paudel is the Founder of Digital Solution, a Content Creator, and an AI Trainer. He shares practical and easy-to-understand content on Artificial Intelligence, Digital Literacy, Online Services, FinTech, and Technology. His mission is to make technology simple, accessible, and useful for everyone.

View all posts by Rabin Paudel →