Union Bank aims to enhance banking services with AI

From left: UoM Faculty of Business Dean Prof. G.D. Samarasinghe, UoM Head of Industrial Management Development Dr. Gayatri Kuruppu, National Innovation Agency Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Ajith De Alwis, UoM Vice Chancellor Senior Prof. N.D. Gunawardena, UB Deputy CEO Dilshan Rodrigo, UB Chairman Nirvana Choudary, UB Vice President Marketing Thishani Dissanayake, UB Manager Corporate and Digital Communications Nilusha Wanasinghe and UoM Programme Coordinator Prof. Rohan Munasinghe

• Signs MoU with Moratuwa University to empower entrepreneurs

By W.A.N.B.S. Siriwardena
Union Bank, in partnership with the National Innovation Agency and University of Moratuwa (UoM), yesterday launched the Union Bank School of Social Entrepreneurship (UBSSE), which also provides access to finance.
At the event held at Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the three parties to support the National Entrepreneurship Development Programme (NEDP), aimed at empowering SMEs and youth aspiring to become entrepreneurs across Sri Lanka.
Union Bank Vice President Marketing Thishani Dissanayake stated, “Union Bank’s support will encompass various aspects of the programme, including operational costs, expert fees and facilities enhancement. Additionally, our islandwide branch network will facilitate reaching applicants across the country, ensuring broad access to the programme.”
“The course programme provided by the UoM will be a certificate programme in the initial phase and will be developed to a fully-fledged programme that will assist the entrepreneurs, to take the product to the market,” said Union Bank Deputy CEO Dilshan Rodrigo. 

Addressing the gathering, Union Bank Chairman Nirvana Choudary drew from his past experience of trying to implement the entrepreneurship development programme in rural Nepal, emphasised the need to create the right ecosystem of education and the network required for the entrepreneurs to succeed in the market.
Speaking at the event, Senior Prof. N.D. Gunawardena revealed about a proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to set up a technology and innovation fund to provide capital for new technological advancements in the country.
He said the proposed fund would be done following a venture capital model, providing seed money to incept the business upon receiving a solid business model, showing how the business can make a return on the investment of the government.
Furthermore, the upgraded version of Union Bank’s mobile banking app, UBgo was unveiled prior to wrapping up the proceedings. The customisation, security enhancements and other new features that provide ease of payment to the consumers were explained by Union Bank Vice President and Head of Alternate Channels and Digital Banking Manisha Fernando.
He said that the incorporation of account opening functions and enhanced payment options like digital account and cash tokenisation, which is eyed to be done by the end of the year, would revolutionise the banking sphere in Sri Lanka.
He also revealed that the end objective of the UBgo app is to enhance banking services through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), where the customers of banks won’t have to wait in line or schedule in-person meetings to receive banking services like acquiring loans, etc. 
The upgraded version of the UBgo app was made available at midnight yesterday.