eSewa vs Khalti by IME (2026): Fees, QR and Super Wallet Compared

In 2025, Khalti and IME Pay merged into a single app, Khalti by IME. So forget every old three-way comparison on the internet. In 2026 there are two wallets that matter, and most Nepalis carry both: eSewa for acceptance, Khalti by IME for features.

This comparison uses 2026 fee schedules and Nepal Rastra Bank limits, current as of October 2026. Confirm inside the app before moving big money. Schedules change.

Best for acceptance: eSewa

Launched in 2009, roughly 60 percent of the wallet market, agents in all 77 districts. The app will never delight you. It will work in villages your bank has never heard of, which matters more.

The fee schedule is refreshingly specific. Loading from your bank or an agent costs nothing; card loads cost 1.75 percent. Wallet-to-wallet is free under Rs 100, and free a few times daily above that before a Rs 10 charge. Bank withdrawals are a flat Rs 10. Electricity bills under Rs 500 carry no fee.

If your family lives outside the Valley, stop comparing. The nearest agent beats every feature list.

Best for features: Khalti by IME

Khalti earned its users at government counters and cinema halls: Lok Sewa fees, traffic fines, movie tickets, domestic flights. The merger added IME's remittance pipe, so money sent through IME or GME from the Gulf, Malaysia, or Korea can land straight in the wallet. (eSewa answers via eSewa Money Transfer and partners like Remitly and MoneyGram. Both receive remittance; the in-house IME connection is the edge when your sender uses it.)

Then there is the Super Wallet with Global IME Bank, paying around 2.75 percent a year on your balance. Do the math before swooning: the overnight cap is Rs 50,000, so the maximum is about Rs 1,375 a year. A thank-you for money sitting there anyway, not a savings plan.

One complaint: Khalti publishes less of its fee grid than eSewa. Check the app before assuming a transfer is free.

Best for big transfers: ConnectIPS

Not a wallet. A bank-to-bank pipe with no balance, no rewards, and no caps to dodge. Moving serious money between banks? Use it and skip the wallets entirely.

The limits are identical, because NRB sets them

Verified accounts on every wallet: Rs 50,000 max overnight balance, Rs 2 lakh load per day, Rs 50,000 wallet-to-wallet per day, Rs 10 lakh a month out to banks. Unverified: around Rs 5,000 a month, no transfers. Anyone marketing limits as a feature is selling you nothing.

The verdict

One app only: eSewa. Government payments, tickets, IME remittance, idle-balance interest: Khalti by IME. Lakhs between banks: ConnectIPS. Everyone else: both wallets, KYC done, small balance in each. Interoperable QR means one counter sticker increasingly accepts all of them anyway.

Run a shop? Put your accepted wallets on your Bharosilo listing. Customers search for exactly that before they walk over.

Updated October 2026.