HNB wins ‘Best IoT Initiative’ award at Asian Digital Finance Forum

HNB Head of Deposits, Viranga Gamage (first from right) receiving the Award from Fintech Association of Sri Lanka (FASL) President Rajkumar Kanagasingam in the presence of Central Bank of Sri Lanka Assistant Governor Dharmasiri Kumaratunga

HNB FIT, Asia’s first fitness related app launched by Sri Lanka’s HNB PLC, was crowned as the ‘Best IoT initiative’ at the Asian Digital Finance Forum and Awards recently. 

Hosted by the Asian FinTech Academy (AFTA) in Colombo, the forum recognised and awarded organizations and impactful individuals at a hybrid event. Central Bank of Sri Lanka Assistant Governor Dharmasiri Kumaratunge, Fintech Association of Sri Lanka (FASL) President Rajkumar Kanagasingam and Fintech Association of Japan Vice—Chair Takeshi Kito participated in the event as Guests of Honor together with representatives from leading organisations in Sri Lanka. 

Sharing his thoughts on the win, HNB Head of Deposits, Viranga Gamage shared: “We are honoured to see the HNB FIT banking product recognized and awarded as an impactful initiative. The product is unique to the Asian region and was mainly aimed to incentivize accountholders encouraging them to take minimum 6,000 steps per day, and be a healthier version of themselves. 

HNB FIT is the cohesive union of new tech and the fitness culture which aims to improve an individual’s health and wellbeing.”

HNB FIT promotes health and wellbeing by rewarding attractive interest rates for achieving a foot count on a daily basis. This one-of-a-kind initiative introduced in 2017 has received positive feedback since its launch.
The fitness-based application can be downloaded onto any smartphone. The step count could be tracked either by synchronizing with a wearable device (Apple watch, FIT BIT or a MI brand) or with phone based fitness apps (Apple Health Kit, Google Fit or STRAVA). 

Once the application is synced with the device, or the fitness application, HNB FIT tracks the step count achieved for the day by the customer. There are two fitness goals that a customer can aim to achieve; a 6,000 step-count target or a 10,000 step-count target, and the interest varies according to both levels. 

Once the daily target is achieved, the customer will become eligible to transfer a set amount from their operating account (either a savings or current account) to their HNB FIT account. The deposits made to the latter will be subjected to attractive interest rates higher than nominal interest rates offered in the market, and the interest will be credited to their relevant operating accounts. 

With every daily-step count achievement, a customer will become eligible to transfer up to Rs. 10 million from their operating account to their FIT account and enjoy higher-interest income benefits.