Nostro Account

'Nostro' is Latin for 'ours', meaning 'our account with you'. For example, a Nepali bank keeps a US dollar account with a bank in New York; from the Nepali bank's point of view, this is its nostro account.

Nostro accounts are the backbone of international payments. When a Nepali bank sends a telegraphic transfer in dollars, the correspondent bank debits its nostro account and pays the beneficiary. When dollars come in for a Nepali customer, they are credited first to the Nepali bank's nostro account, and the bank then pays the customer in rupees or in a foreign currency account. LC settlements, export proceeds and interbank deals also pass through nostro accounts.

Banks must manage their nostro balances carefully: too little causes payment failures and overdraft charges, while too much leaves funds idle. Nostro accounts must be reconciled daily, matching the bank's own records (the mirror account) with statements received from the correspondent, usually by SWIFT MT950 or MT940 messages.

The same account seen from the correspondent bank's side is a vostro account.

'नस्ट्रो' ल्याटिन शब्द हो, जसको अर्थ 'हाम्रो' अर्थात् 'तपाईंकहाँ रहेको हाम्रो खाता'। जस्तै नेपाली बैंकले न्युयोर्कको बैंकमा अमेरिकी डलरको खाता राख्छ भने त्यो नेपाली बैंकको नस्ट्रो खाता हो।

अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय भुक्तानी नस्ट्रो खातामार्फत हुन्छ: नेपाली बैंकले डलरमा TT पठाउँदा संवाददाता बैंकले नस्ट्रो खाता डेबिट गरी लाभग्राहीलाई तिर्छ; नेपाली ग्राहकका लागि डलर आउँदा पहिले नस्ट्रो खातामा जम्मा हुन्छ। प्रतीतपत्र फर्छ्यौट र निर्यात आम्दानी पनि यसैबाट हुन्छ।

कम मौज्दात भए भुक्तानी असफल हुन्छ र बढी भए रकम निष्क्रिय रहन्छ। संवाददाताबाट आउने SWIFT विवरण (MT950/MT940) सँग दैनिक हिसाब मिलान गर्नुपर्छ। संवाददाताको दृष्टिबाट उही खाता भस्ट्रो हो।