The model
How a software company and a bank lend together, legally
Under Nepali law only licensed Banks and Financial Institutions may disburse loans. That is not a loophole to be worked around — it is the structure the partnership is built on.
The options
Three routes, and why only one is open today
We looked at all three seriously before choosing. Being explicit about why the other two were rejected is more useful to your compliance team than a pitch.
Own licence — rejected
Becoming a licensed institution requires paid-up capital from roughly NPR 2 crore for a district-level microfinance licence up to NPR 80 crore for a national finance company, plus NRB approval and full prudential compliance. Not viable for a software company, and unnecessary when licensed partners exist.
Peer-to-peer — blocked
P2P lending is not currently permitted in Nepal. NRB has published a consultative document and a white paper, but no regulation has been issued. Operating a P2P model today would be unlawful, and we will not do it.
TSP — chosen
Provide the technology to an institution that already holds a licence. Legal today, no capital requirement, no licence application, and the technology stays entirely under our control.
The flow of a loan
Who does what, in order
The borrower applies on Khepee
Through your branded app. The platform is the interface; the product is yours.
Khepee verifies and scores
KYC workflow and scorecard produce a complete file and a recommendation.
Your officer decides
Approval or refusal is your institution’s decision, made by your staff under your credit policy.
Your rails disburse
Khepee constructs and records the instruction. Your payment infrastructure moves the money.
The loan is yours
It sits on your balance sheet. You are the lender of record and the creditor.
Khepee services it
Schedules, reminders, repayment tracking, collections support and reporting.
The money boundary
Funds never enter Khepee, at any point
This is the boundary that makes the model work, and it is enforced in the code rather than in a policy. The payment interface exposes methods to instruct and to read status. It exposes no method that could move funds into an account Khepee controls.
- No settlement account, no float, no client money at Khepee
- No trust or escrow arrangement to negotiate
- Your institution is the source of truth for every rupee
- The constraint is architectural — it cannot be configured away
Public statements
What may honestly be said, and what may not
We hold ourselves to this publicly and we will hold the partnership to it. A regulatory claim that fails verification damages your institution more than ours.
- True and usable: “Loans are issued by our NRB-licensed partner.”
- True and usable: “Built to comply with NRB’s digital lending requirements.”
- Never: “Khepee is NRB approved, licensed or regulated.”
- Never: any implication that Khepee lends, takes deposits or holds funds
Looking ahead
The architecture does not lock either side in
Khepee is multi-tenant, and a tenant is a lending entity rather than a partner. If NRB opens a sandbox route, or if a different entity holds the licence in future, the same core serves it. Nothing here has to be rebuilt.
- A tenant is any lending entity, not specifically a partner bank
- A sandbox vehicle would be another tenant on the same platform
- Your data is exportable in full, at any time
- No dependency that makes leaving expensive on either side
The paperwork
What the agreement actually covers
Service agreement
Scope, service levels, support commitments, fees and term.
Data processing terms
What data is processed, on what basis, for how long, and with what security measures.
Liability allocation
Who is responsible for what, negotiated precisely rather than left to be argued later.
Exit and portability
Notice, transition assistance and a complete structured data export.
Audit rights
Your right to inspect controls, and to have your regulator do the same.
Sub-processors
Which third parties are involved, and your right to object to a new one.
Khepee is a technology provider, not a lender
Khepee is operated by Lacspace Corporation Pvt. Ltd. It is not a bank or financial institution, does not lend, does not accept deposits and does not hold customer funds. Lending is carried out by partner institutions licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank under their own licence and credit policy. Khepee makes no claim of NRB licensing, approval, registration or endorsement, and nothing here is an offer of credit or financial advice.
Coming soon
Bring your compliance team to the first meeting
The questions they ask are the ones worth answering, and answering them early saves everyone a month.