To start an ecommerce website in Nepal, you need four things working together: a registered business that is also listed as an online seller, a merchant account with eSewa, Khalti or Fonepay, a delivery plan with cash on delivery as a backup, and a store whose product pages answer every question. In my experience the website is rarely the slow part. The paperwork is.
This guide walks through each piece in the order I take my own clients through it. If you want the bigger picture first, such as what a good website does and how the full build process runs, start with my guide to website design in Nepal and come back here when you are ready to sell.
An ecommerce website in Nepal is more than a shop page.
An ecommerce website is a site where customers can browse products, pay online or choose cash on delivery, and get an order confirmation without messaging you. That last part matters. Many Nepali sellers already “sell online” through Facebook and Instagram inbox, but every order still needs a human to reply, quote a price and confirm the address.
A real store takes that work off your hands. It shows stock, adds the delivery charge, takes the payment and sends you a clean order you can pack. Behind it sit five parts:
- Legal registration, including the new online business registration.
- Payment collection through wallets, mobile banking, QR and cash on delivery.
- Delivery and returns that you can actually keep your promises on.
- The store platform and its product pages.
- A launch routine that tests everything before real customers do.
Why is now a good time to sell online in Nepal?
Now is a good time because Nepali customers have already moved to paying by phone. You no longer have to convince people to try digital payment. You only have to make paying you as easy as paying the tea shop next door.
The numbers are large. Nepal Rastra Bank’s payment systems indicators for Asar 2083 (mid June to mid July 2026) show 69,589,977 QR based payments, 57,040,563 wallet transactions and 82,605,104 mobile banking transactions in that single month. Those are habits, not experiments.
The impact for a small business is simple. When payment happens on the website, you stop chasing screenshots in Messenger and you can see which products actually sell.
Do you need to register an online business in Nepal?
Yes, online sellers now need to register with the government. On 18 August 2026, Onlinekhabar reported that “The government has asked all businesses operating through online platforms to register,” on the portal of the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection, with action possible under the Electronic Commerce Act 2081.
The directive covers websites, apps and social media sellers alike. The coverage I have seen gives no deadline or fine amount, so I would not wait to find out. My advice to clients is to sort this in the following order:
- Register the business itself (sole proprietorship or private limited) and get your PAN or VAT certificate.
- Register as an online business on the department’s portal.
- Show your business name, address, PAN and contact details clearly on the website, usually in the footer and on an About or Contact page.
Laws and portals change, so confirm the current requirements with the department or a lawyer before launch.
How do eSewa, Khalti and Fonepay payments work on a website?
Each payment gateway sends your customer to pay inside the wallet or bank, then tells your website whether the payment succeeded. Your store only marks the order as paid after that confirmation arrives. The differences are in how the handshake happens and who can use it.
eSewa sends the shopper to a signed payment form.
With eSewa, your website sends the order amount and a unique order ID to eSewa in a form protected by a secret signature. eSewa’s developer documentation describes this ePay method, a separate test environment with a test merchant code, and a status check you should use when the customer closes the page before returning. It also lists ready guides for WooCommerce, Prestashop and Magento.
Khalti starts the payment from your server.
With Khalti, your website asks Khalti’s server to start a payment, receives a payment link, and redirects the customer there. On its payment gateway page, Khalti says integration takes “a minimum of 2 hours to 1 day” and links an official WooCommerce plugin. Khalti’s documentation lists the Khalti wallet, eBanking, mobile banking, cards and connectIPS as ways to pay through the same checkout, and the minimum amount is Rs 10.
Fonepay brings bank QR into the checkout.
Fonepay runs the bank QR network you see on many shop counters, and it is licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank as a payment system operator. In July 2026, ShareSansar reported the launch of “Checkout by Fonepay”, which lets customers pay within a merchant’s checkout flow through the mobile banking apps of 11 partner banks and financial institutions. It is newer, so ask your bank whether your account can use it.
| Option | How the customer pays | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| eSewa | Logs in to eSewa and approves the amount | Most stores, offered alongside Khalti |
| Khalti | Pays by Khalti wallet, mobile banking or card | Stores that want one checkout covering several methods |
| Fonepay | Scans or approves in their bank’s app | Customers who pay straight from the bank |
| Cash on delivery | Pays the rider at the door | First time buyers and orders outside main cities |
Cash on delivery still belongs in most Nepali stores.
Cash on delivery should stay as an option because it removes the trust barrier for first time buyers. The trade off is real: refused parcels, cash held by couriers, and slower settlement. I usually suggest offering it with a clear limit, for example only inside certain districts or below a certain order value, and encouraging wallet payment with a small reason to choose it.
What documents do eSewa and Khalti ask for?
Both ask for your business registration, PAN or VAT certificate and a recent tax clearance, so get these scanned before you apply. Blurry scans and expired documents are what slow most applications down.
According to eSewa’s August 2026 guide to merchant API documents, a sole proprietorship with yearly transactions above NPR 1 lakh needs a business registration certificate, PAN or VAT certificate, any business licence that applies, the proprietor’s citizenship and the latest tax clearance. Smaller proprietorships can use a ward or local authority document with a personal PAN. A private limited company also adds its incorporation certificate, MOA and AOA, a board minute and directors’ citizenship.
On its payment gateway page, Khalti lists a company registration certificate, PAN or VAT certificate, latest tax clearance and an updated logo. Its process is to sign up as a merchant, complete KYC, integrate and test, then receive live keys. Without documents you can still test, but you cannot withdraw money to your bank.
What does it cost to take payments and build the store?
Gateway charges are agreed with each provider, and neither eSewa nor Khalti publishes merchant rates on the official pages I checked. Khalti describes its pricing as a one time API charge plus a service charge for each transaction, with no annual maintenance fee. Ask each provider for a written rate before you set your prices.
The website itself depends on product count, platform and how much custom work you need. I have broken those cost drivers down in my article on how much a website costs in Nepal, so I will not repeat them here. One cost people forget: product photography. Good photos often cost more than the payment setup and do far more for sales.
Which platform should a Nepali online store use?
For most small Nepali stores I recommend WordPress with WooCommerce, mainly because both eSewa and Khalti provide WooCommerce support directly. That keeps the payment link between your store and the wallet simple, without a middle app.
Shopify and fully custom builds have their place, but each comes with trade offs on payments and running costs in Nepal. I compare all three side by side in WordPress, Shopify or custom code for a Nepali business.
How should you handle delivery across Nepal?
Plan delivery by zone, because a parcel inside the Kathmandu Valley and a parcel to a hill district are two different promises. Set your delivery charges and timelines per zone on the website so the customer sees the total before paying.
- Choose a courier partner that covers your main districts, gives tracking, and settles cash on delivery money on a fixed schedule.
- Write the delivery promise honestly, such as one to two days inside the valley and longer outside, and say what happens during festivals and strikes.
- Publish a returns and exchange policy that covers wrong size, damaged items and refused parcels.
- Pack for the road. Long bus routes are hard on boxes, especially for cosmetics and glass.
Product pages are where an online store wins or loses the sale.
A product page has to do the job of a shopkeeper, so it should answer every question a customer would ask at the counter. If they have to message you to ask the price or the size, many will simply leave.
Every product page I build includes clear photos from several angles, the price in NPR, variants such as size and colour, stock status, delivery time and charge, and the return policy in one line. For food, cosmetics and medicines, show manufacturing and expiry information clearly.
When I built the Goreto Gears ecommerce website for a trekking gear shop in Thamel, my view was that the activity filters mattered as much as the product photos. Trekkers think in trips, not product categories. For the Sujan Ghotane Beauty online store, the lesson was different: beauty buyers want an editorial feel and confidence in shade and finish before they pay.
Product pages also need to load fast on mobile data and rank on Google. I cover those in separate guides on why websites are slow on Nepali mobile data and SEO for online stores in Nepal.
Use this launch checklist before you take the first real order.
Test every path a real customer could take, including the ones that fail. Here is the checklist I run before any store goes live.
| Area | What to check |
|---|---|
| Legal | Business and online registration done, PAN and contact details on the site |
| Payments | Live keys installed, a real small payment made and refunded on each gateway |
| Failed payments | Cancelled and closed payments leave the order unpaid, not confirmed |
| Cash on delivery | Rules and limits show correctly at checkout |
| Delivery | Charges calculate by zone, courier briefed |
| Emails and SMS | Order confirmation reaches the customer and you |
| Policies | Returns, privacy and terms pages published |
| Mobile | Full order placed on a mid range Android phone on mobile data |
These are the mistakes I see most often with new Nepali stores.
Most problems come from launching the website before the business behind it is ready. The common ones are:
- Applying for gateways late, then launching with only cash on delivery and a Messenger link.
- Marking orders as paid when the customer returns to the site, without checking the gateway’s confirmation.
- Hiding delivery charges until the last step, which feels like a trick.
- Uploading a hundred products with one blurry photo each instead of twenty products done properly.
These are the questions business owners ask me most about online stores.
Can I use eSewa and Khalti on the same website?
Yes. Most stores I build offer both, plus cash on delivery, because customers tend to have a favourite wallet. Each gateway is set up and tested separately.
Can I start selling before my merchant account is approved?
You can build and test the store with test credentials, but you cannot collect real money until the provider approves you. Many owners launch with cash on delivery first and switch on wallets when approval arrives.
Do I need a website if I already sell on Facebook?
Not on day one, but a store saves you hours of inbox work and gives you a channel you control. I explain the full trade off in do you need a website if you already have a Facebook page.
Do I need a .com.np domain for an online store?
No, a .com works just as well for selling. A .com.np can signal that you are a Nepali business, and I cover how to choose and register one in my guide to domains and hosting in Nepal.
Can I sell to customers outside Nepal?
eSewa and Khalti are built around Nepali wallets and bank accounts, so overseas buyers usually need another method. If foreign sales matter to you, raise it at the start because it changes the payment and delivery plan.
Here is what I would do next if I were you.
Start the paperwork this week: business registration, PAN, tax clearance, online business registration and merchant applications. While those are in progress, write your product list and book a photo session. When you are ready for the store itself, see how I approach website design and development, or tell me about your products and we can plan it on a discovery call, after which I will send you a clear quote.
These are the sources I used for this article.
- Nepal Rastra Bank, Payment Systems Indicators, Asar 2083
- Onlinekhabar English, online business registration made mandatory, August 2026
- eSewa Developer Documentation
- eSewa blog, documents required for merchant API integration, August 2026
- Khalti Payment Gateway
- Khalti Docs
- Fonepay
- ShareSansar, Fonepay launches Checkout by Fonepay, July 2026