Nepal · Compliance
PCI DSS compliance in Nepal
Achieve PCI DSS compliance in Nepal with Sterling: 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, 20+ years.
- Compliance, end to end
- Mumbai office team
- Effivity software included
- Academy training included
Who asks for PCI DSS in Nepal
Clients include
PCI DSS compliance in Nepal at a glance
Two Nepali instruments bear on PCI DSS. Not one of them names it. So why do buyers in Nepal keep asking for evidence of it?
Card payments in Nepal pass through banks, payment service providers and processors licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank, and the card brands expect every one of them, as well as the merchants they serve, to protect cardholder data under PCI DSS. The standard is contractual, not statutory, but NRB's Cyber Resilience Guidelines 2023 reinforce it by asking licensed payment institutions to benchmark against industry standards and to obtain assurance from suppliers. The Individual Privacy Regulations, 2077 add a general duty to keep electronic information confidential and secure. Compliance is validated by a Qualified Security Assessor or by self-assessment as the payment brands require, never by Sterling. Sterling's Mumbai office scopes the cardholder data environment, closes control gaps and prepares evidence for assessment, with Effivity and Sterling Academy included with the engagement.
Who needs PCI DSS in Nepal, and what happens without it
These are the organisations in Nepal that most often need to show PCI DSS.
- Payment service providers and payment system operators licensed by NRBThe Cyber Resilience Guidelines 2023 set cyber resilience expectations for institutions licensed by the Payment Systems Department.
- Banks issuing or acquiring cardsCard brands require PCI DSS compliance from entities that store, process or transmit cardholder data.
- Merchants, hotels and e-commerce businesses accepting cardsAcquirers pass card brand validation requirements to merchants.
- Service providers hosting or processing card dataBanks and payment firms must confirm their suppliers meet security requirements.
Not sure which of these applies to you?Answer a short set of questions and your readiness report arrives by e-mail.
Take the PCI DSS readiness checkPCI DSS requirements in Nepal
Strip away the vocabulary and PCI DSS asks any business that stores, processes or transmits card data to comply in six areas.
In Nepal these six sit alongside the local laws and regulations listed under drivers below; one system can evidence both. The detail is on the global hub: PCI DSS explained →
How to achieve PCI DSS compliance in Nepal
One team from the Mumbai office carries the work from scoping to sign-off. Clients across Nepal are served from Sterling's Mumbai office, on-site where the work needs it and remotely otherwise.
- Discovery call and scopeEntities, locations, regulators and target date, agreed before any proposal.
- Gap assessment against PCI DSS and the Nepali requirements that apply to youControls you already run for your regulators and customers are reused, not rebuilt.
- Your system built with your team in EffivityRisks, controls, evidence, incidents and reviews in one live system the auditor can see.
- Internal audit, management review and corrective actionsYour internal auditors trained by Sterling; the evidence proven before any external review.
- Reviews by regulators, customers and auditorsSterling supports the reviews your regulators, customers and auditors run.
- End to end, from one team
- Effivity ISO & GRC software
- Preferential Sterling Academy access, with complimentary awareness training for your people
- Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard
- Vulnerability assessment on ISMS engagements
The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements.Sterling does not certify. Certification decisions stay with independent bodies.
How long does PCI DSS compliance take in Nepal?
There is no standard duration: it depends on your scope and on how much of the system already runs. In Nepal these are the factors that set the timeline.
- Size and segmentation of the cardholder data environment
- Number of payment channels and service providers
- Technical testing and remediation
- QSA availability
Sterling agrees a dated plan with you on the discovery call, once the scope is known.
How much does PCI DSS compliance cost in Nepal?
The cost has two parts: the consulting work to build and prove the system, and any external assessor’s fees, which are quoted separately. In Nepal these factors move both.
- Scope of systems and locations
- Segmentation, logging and encryption upgrades
- QSA assessment fees quoted separately from consulting
- Penetration testing and scanning
Sterling gives one customised, all-inclusive proposal after the discovery call, never before the scope is agreed.
PCI DSS consultants and assessors in Nepal
Two different organisations are involved. A consultant helps you build the system and prove it works; your regulators, customers and auditors then audits or assesses it and decides. Keeping the two separate is what makes the result credible to buyers and regulators.
- Check that the body’s accreditation or approval covers PCI DSS and your sector, and that its certificates can be verified online.
- Ask the consultant how the local requirements in Nepal are mapped into the same system, so nothing runs twice.
- Ask for client references in your sector; Sterling’s client letters are available on request.
- Agree who owns the evidence and the tool after the engagement; with Sterling the system stays yours, in Effivity.
Laws and regulations that drive PCI DSS in Nepal (2)
| Instrument | How it treats the standard |
|---|---|
| Cyber Resilience Guidelines 2023 (Nepal Rastra Bank) | Expected in practice Licensed institutions should benchmark against industry standards and obtain assurance from participants and suppliers; PCI DSS is not named. |
| Individual Privacy Regulations, 2077 (वैयक्तिक गोपनीयता सम्बन्धी नियमावली, २०७७) | Expected in practice Electronic information, including financial details, must be kept confidential and secure; no standard is named. |
"Expected in practice" means the instrument asks for the outcomes PCI DSS covers without naming a standard, and PCI DSS is what buyers and regulators commonly accept as evidence of them.
Accreditation, audit language and remote audits in Nepal
PCI DSS compliance is validated by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) or by a self-assessment questionnaire, as the payment brands and your acquirer require for your merchant or service provider level. There is no accredited certificate in the ISO sense; the outcome is a report on compliance or self-assessment with an attestation of compliance. Edition and transition details: PCI DSS hub →
Audit language
Most Nepali laws and official notices are issued in Nepali, and the Nepal Law Commission publishes English translations of many Acts, including the Privacy Act. Agree the audit language, any interpreter and the language of controlled documents with the certification body at application.
Remote and on-site
Assessments combine on-site review of facilities and systems with remote evidence review, as the QSA decides.
PCI DSS in Nepal: questions clients ask
Does Nepali law require PCI DSS?
No Nepali instrument cited here names it. PCI DSS is a contractual requirement of the card brands, passed down through acquiring banks to merchants and service providers. Nepal Rastra Bank's Cyber Resilience Guidelines 2023 add their own expectations for licensed payment institutions. Check your acquirer agreement and NRB obligations with counsel.
How is PCI DSS compliance validated for a Nepali business?
By a Qualified Security Assessor's report on compliance or by a self-assessment questionnaire, as the card brands and your acquirer require for your level. Larger service providers and merchants usually need an on-site assessment by a QSA, while smaller merchants often self-assess. Your acquirer tells you which applies.
Does PCI DSS overlap with ISO 27001?
Substantially, but they are not interchangeable. ISO 27001 is a risk-based management system across the whole organisation, while PCI DSS sets specific technical and operational requirements for the cardholder data environment. Many payment firms run both, using ISO 27001 governance to sustain PCI DSS controls between assessments.
What makes PCI DSS scope larger than expected?
Poor network segmentation and unknown card data. If systems that store, process or transmit card data are not isolated, everything connected comes into scope. A data discovery exercise and segmentation testing early in the project usually reduce scope and cost.
More on PCI DSS for Nepali organisations
- PCI DSS: the complete guide
- Watch: How to implement PCI DSS
- Banking and financial services: PCI DSS for the sector
- BPO and contact centres: PCI DSS for the sector
- E-commerce and retail: PCI DSS for the sector
- Fintech and payment facilitators: PCI DSS for the sector
- Healthcare providers and insurers: PCI DSS for the sector
- Hospitality and travel: PCI DSS for the sector
- Software and hosting: PCI DSS for the sector
- PCI DSS compliance in Nepal and every other standard Sterling delivers there
Other standards Nepali businesses ask Sterling for
Organisations in Nepal often combine PCI DSS with one of these, under one management system where the scopes allow.
Start with a free discovery call from the Mumbai office
A Sterling consultant goes through your entities, your regulators and your target date with you. No proposal until the scope is agreed.
Sources
- Cyber Resilience Guidelines 2023 (Nepal Rastra Bank) — nrb.org.np (accessed 12 Oct 2026)
- Individual Privacy Regulations, 2077 (वैयक्तिक गोपनीयता सम्बन्धी नियमावली, २०७७) — lawcommission.gov.np (accessed 12 Oct 2026)
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