Nepal ATM Limits and Fees for Foreign Cards: What Banks Publish and What They Do Not

Last updated 4 October 2026. Every fee and limit on this page comes from a bank's own published fee schedule or card page, and named next to the figure. Where a bank does not publish something, I say so. The Nepal Rastra Bank site publishes no ATM figure that we know of, so none is used. Our own itinerary and payment facts come from our live pages.

The short answer: a Nepali bank charges a foreign card a fee of about NPR 660 to NPR 900 every time you withdraw, and that fee is separate from whatever your own bank charges you. Of the banks whose fee schedules are published, NMB charges NPR 660, Everest Bank NPR 750, NIC Asia NPR 750 on Visa and NPR 900 on Mastercard, and Siddhartha lists an "ATM Access Fee" of NPR 850. The maximum you can take out in one go is a different story. The banks publish limits for their own customers' cards, mostly NPR 20,000 per withdrawal and NPR 50,000 per day, but no bank page states the limit for a foreign-issued card, so I cannot give you one. The two practical points that follow are to withdraw rupees in Kathmandu or Pokhara, not on the trail, and to carry US dollars in cash as your backup.

What is the ATM withdrawal limit for a foreign card in Nepal?

The banks do not publish a limit for foreign cards, so I cannot give you a number. Nepali banks publish transaction limits for their own cardholders. No bank page sets out a maximum per withdrawal or per day for a card issued abroad, so any single figure you see quoted for foreign cards is unsourced.

Here is what the banks do publish, for their own customers' debit cards used at ATMs in Nepal. Treat it as a guide to the order of magnitude, not as your limit.

At roughly 154 rupees to the US dollar (the Nepal Rastra Bank rate quoted in our Nepal money guide), NPR 20,000 is about USD 130. If a foreign card were held to the same figure, you would need several withdrawals to take out a larger sum, and each one would carry the access fee described below. That is one more reason to plan your cash before you arrive.

How much does a Nepal ATM charge a foreign card?

Four banks publish a charge for foreign cards in their fee schedules. It is an access fee charged by the Nepali bank per withdrawal. It is not the fee your own bank charges.

At about 154 rupees to the dollar, that is roughly USD 4 to USD 6 per withdrawal. Calculated, not a bank's figure. The number matters less than the way it is charged: it is per transaction, so one withdrawal of NPR 20,000 and one of NPR 5,000 cost the same access fee. Taking out your cash in fewer, larger withdrawals is cheaper than many small ones, within whatever limit the machine applies.

You will see "NPR 500" quoted for this fee on other sites. None of the four fee schedules says NPR 500. Fees change, so check the machine's on-screen notice before you confirm. No bank page confirms that every machine shows the fee before you accept it, so read the screen carefully.

What is the difference between the bank fee, your own bank's fee and currency conversion?

Three separate charges can land on one withdrawal, and people often confuse them.

• The Nepali bank's access fee. The NPR 660 to NPR 900 above. The machine's bank charges it for letting a foreign card in.
• Your own bank's fees. A foreign-transaction or cash-withdrawal fee, and possibly a fee on the currency exchange. These are in your own card issuer's tariff and I cannot tell you what they are. Look up your card's fee for cash withdrawals abroad before you leave, and ask whether it has a daily withdrawal limit of its own, because your own bank's limit applies as well.
• Dynamic currency conversion. This is when a machine or shop offers to charge you in your home currency instead of Nepali rupees. Visa's own US travel-support page says the conversion "usually includes a markup" and advises you to "decline the conversion and choose to pay in local currency". Visa wrote that about shops and merchant bills, and no Nepali bank page says whether its ATMs offer a conversion. My reading is that the same logic applies if a machine ever asks, so choose rupees. That last step is my judgment, not Visa's words. Visa's page (usa.visa.com, travel support) is as at 4 October 2026.

I do not quote a Mastercard page on this.

Where are the ATMs in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Namche?

The only locator checked in full was Nabil Bank's ATM and branch list at nabilbank.com/atms. It is one bank's list, not every machine in Nepal. Other banks run machines too, and their locators were not checked.

Two cautions. First, a listing is not a promise that the machine has cash, power or a connection on the day. Second, Nabil's list does not show a machine at Lukla, Jomsom or Chame. That is not proof that none exists, only that none is confirmed.

Can I rely on ATMs on the trail?

No. Our own Everest itinerary describes the Namche machines as "two ATMs that sometimes function", and on the Rara Lake route our itinerary says there are no ATMs and that card payments do not exist. That is the reason I tell every guest the same thing: take your rupees out in Kathmandu or Pokhara, before you fly or drive to the mountains, and treat Namche as a backup that may be empty, offline or unable to read your card.

Also bring some US dollars in cash. Dollars are the one thing that works as a fallback when a machine fails: money changers in Kathmandu take them, and they are what you pay us in (more on that below). Our money guide sets out how much trail cash to plan for and what you pay in rupees and what in dollars. For the cost of charging a phone or paying for a hot shower on the way, read our guide to wifi, electricity and charging on treks, because those are paid in cash too.

What should I do if my card is declined at a Nepal ATM?

These steps are my own practical advice from our experience, not a bank's procedure.

1. Do not keep re-entering the PIN. Stop after a failed try or two, in case your bank locks the card.
2. Try a smaller amount. The banks' own limits above are NPR 20,000 per withdrawal, so a large request may be refused. Asking for less costs nothing.
3. Try a different bank's machine. Each bank sets its own fee and its own link to the card networks, so a card refused at one machine may work at the next.
4. Check that your card is switched on for cash withdrawals abroad. Many banks let you turn this off in their app. Tell your bank you are travelling to Nepal before you leave, which also stops it blocking the card as unusual.
5. Use a machine inside a bank branch or a hotel lobby, in daylight. If the machine keeps your card, you can walk into the branch.
6. Keep the receipt, so you can raise a disputed or failed withdrawal with your own bank.
7. Fall back on US dollars. Exchange a small amount at a money changer in Thamel and try the machine again the next day.

Carry a second card from a different bank if you can. I would rather you had two cards and some dollars than one card and a plan.

Do I need an ATM to pay The Everest Holiday?

No, and you never need to change money to pay us. For our Nepal treks the deposit is 10% (25% for Kailash and Tibet). The balance is paid in Kathmandu in US dollars or euros, in cash or by card. Paying the balance by card carries a 3.5% charge. Cash in Kathmandu carries none. We do not take Nepali rupees from foreign clients, so your ATM cash is for your own spending, not for us.

You can reschedule free of charge to any date within one year with at least 72 hours' notice (7 days for restricted-area, Tibet and Kailash trips). If you cancel instead, the deposit and anything else you have paid are not refunded. If we cannot run the trip, we refund what you paid less taxes, bank and card charges and any money already spent on permits or flights.

Should I use an ATM, a money changer or a card?

My own habit, and what I tell guests, is to take out most of the rupees you will need for the trek in one withdrawal in Kathmandu if the machine allows it, keep dollars as a backup, and not plan around any machine above Namche. If you are doing the Everest Base Camp trek, our 12-day package and the permits and fees guide cover what is already paid, so you know what your own cash is for. For a tight budget, see our budget Everest cost guide. For tipping, which is also cash, see our tipping guide. A full list of things to arrange before you fly is in our pre-departure checklist.

Check before you go

• Ask your own bank what per-withdrawal and per-day limit applies to your foreign-issued card at Nepali ATMs.
• Check that the machine shows its access fee on screen before you accept the withdrawal.
• Ask about the access fee at any bank other than the four above, and check the effective date of Everest Bank's and Siddhartha's lines.
• Check ATM locations for banks other than Nabil. We cannot tell you that any machine works above Namche, so carry cash for the trail.
• Check whether a Nepali machine offers dynamic currency conversion, and read your card network's guidance on it.
• Your own bank's fees depend on your card, so ask your bank.

If you need exact figures for your card, the quickest check is a call to your own bank before you travel. If you want help planning cash for a trek with us, message me on WhatsApp at +977 9810351300.

Sources: foreign-card access fees from the banks' own tariffs: NMB Bank Standard Tariff of Charges (effective 17 September 2026), Everest Bank, NIC Asia Bank (September 2026, item 4.21) and Siddhartha Bank; own-card limits: Everest Bank, Agricultural Development Bank and Siddhartha Bank; ATM locations: Nabil Bank; currency conversion: Visa travel support page. The rupee conversions use the rate in our money guide and are our own calculation.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday, from a family of three generations of family guides. TAAN Member #1586.