Cutting of the ribbon by Mr. Jean Claude Farah, President, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Western Union and Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake, Chairman of MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd

MMBL Money Transfer Services (Joint Venture between Aitken Spence and Mercantile Merchant Bank), the largest representative of industry giant Western Union in Sri Lanka, held an inauguration ceremony recently to celebrate its milestone of reaching its 3,000-payout outlet, located in Colombo -06.

Mr. Jean Claude Farah, President, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Western Union; Ms. Sohini Rajola, Head Asia Pacific, Western Union; Mr. Gaurav Yadava, Country Director, India and South Asia, Western Union and Mr. S. S. Ramanathan, Senior Country Manager, South Asia, Western Union, were present to grace the momentous occasion.

Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake- Chairman of MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Chaminda Hindurangala- Managing Director of MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. K Balasundaram- Director MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd and Mr. Asitha Abeyagoonesekera- General Manager MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd, were present as well to mark this ceremonious event.

MMBL reached this milestone from 2,100 sub-representatives in the last financial year to expand its network to 3,000 which is a remarkable achievement. Furthermore, the company is the only non-banking institution approved for outward remittances with Western Union by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).

“Today is a significant occasion for MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd as they open their 3000th outlet and I am delighted to have the opportunity to join in celebration,” said Jean Claude Farah, President of the Middle East and Asia Pacific at Western Union. “Western Union has a long and proud history of serving the residents of Sri Lanka. We pride ourselves on our global network across more than 200 countries and territories. However, it is in moments like this where thanks to our close collaboration with MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd, scaling for the consumer locally truly comes to life. It means we can offer the aspiring people of Sri Lanka even greater financial inclusivity”.

Left to right: Ms. Sohini Rajola, Head Asia Pacific, Western Union, Mr. Jean Claude Farah, President, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Western Union; and Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake, Chairman of MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd

“This is an important milestone that we celebrate together with Western Union that has been our renowned global partner for more than 15 years. We are immensely grateful and humbled to be their largest representative in Sri Lanka and work towards further strengthening our partnership to facilitate one of the most vital sources of income and foreign exchange generator to Sri Lanka”, commented Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake, Chairman of MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd.

“By expanding our network with Western Union, MMBL’s reputation is reinforced as a fast, reliable and customer-friendly service provider with convenient access throughout the country. This has been one of our critical competitive advantages. We will continue to expand our network with Western Union as we are well positioned to capitalise on opportunities for growth”, commented Mr. Chaminda Hindurangala, Managing Director of MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd.

Worker remittances have consistently remained a vital source of income and foreign exchange generator to Sri Lanka. Empowering migrant workers with easy access to their finances whilst offering an extended network of MMBL service touch points, the company is the largest retail inward remittance representative in the country.

Lighting of the oil lamp by Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake, Chairman of MMBL Money Transfer (Pvt) Ltd and Mr. Jean Claude Farah, President, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Western Union