2 January 2023 04:20 pm Views - 204
It was two years into the new millennium and Internet based services were gaining rapid momentum worldwide. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) was getting ready to put a huge step forward, unveiling a new era in domestic banking. It was the beginning of a two-decade-long journey that revolutionized the Sri Lankan financial ecosystem from the bottom to the top.
In early days, domestic payments between local banks were facilitated by international service providers. As a result, customers were charged a very high transaction fee every time an interbank transaction was carried out. This system not only proved inefficient but also too costly; an expense that could be eliminated with one progressive measure. Thus, LankaPay was born.
The beginning of a legacy
LankaPay, the national payment network was incorporated in 2002, with the intention of uniting all licensed public and private Commercial Banks in Sri Lanka under one domestic payment infrastructure and facilitating interbank transactions at a lower cost. Since its inception, LankaPay has been empowering Sri Lankans with faster, more convenient, secure, and affordable payment solutions thereby moving the country towards financial inclusivity.
Milestones along the way
The Cheque Imaging & Truncation System (CITS) was the first service rolled out by LankaPay, which replaced the previous physical system with an innovative and efficient automated cheque-clearing system. LaknaPay has grown leaps and bounds from there onwards. From launching the first and only commercially operating Digital Certification Authority in Sri Lanka to connecting over 5,800 ATMs Island wide via its Common ATM Network, LankaPay has been at the forefront of enabling seamless transactions for an outstanding twenty years.
Enabling convenience in banking
Currently, LankaPay facilitates approximately twenty five million transactions at a value of 2 trillion every month, including nearly nine million fund transfers and 1.5 million day-to-day transactions carried out via 28 different mobile apps backed by LankaPay. The establishment of the domestic payment network has drastically reduced the transaction fees incurred by the public from the previous Rs.100 to a mere Rs.30.
Empowering the nation
At LankaPay, we make it a habit to measure our success by the size of impact we have made on transforming the lives of Sri Lankans for the better. And it’s not an exaggeration to say that our 20-year journey has given rise to a new age of banking in Sri Lanka. Driven by innovation and technology, LankaPay has made advanced Fintech tools available to everyone.
Gone are the days you had to travel a long distance to find an ATM. Now there’s a LankaPay-connected ATM within close quarters no matter wherever you are on the island. Online transactions up to Rs.5 million can be carried out within seconds. We simply are the invisible force behind your everyday transactions, and we are honoured to be so.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a regular citizen, a professional, a microbusiness owner, or a leading corporation, we are dedicated to making your transactions easier, safer, and more convenient. We have been proudly serving you for 20 years and we will continue to be there for you every time you make a bank transaction. We are with you, every step of the way.