Colombo January 24, 2021: Sampath Bank PLC joined hands with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) yet again to raise awareness and increase acceptance and usage of LANKAQR, the common Quick Response (QR) code standard for the country that was introduced in 2020.
Encouraging consumers to adopt LANKAQR for their day to day transactions, Sampath Bank held a 2-day promotional drive at one of Colombo’s latest outdoor dining destinations, Dining Capsule at Baladaksha Mawatha, near Galle Face Green on the 23rd and 24th of January 2021.
Dharmasri Kumaratunga, Director – Payments and Settlements, Central Bank of Sri Lanka; Nanda Fernando, Managing Director, Sampath Bank PLC; and Tharaka Ranwala, Head of Operations and Group Chief Marketing Officer, Sampath Bank PLC, took part in the ceremonial launch of this initiative together with other senior representatives.
The Bank offered 25% cash back on payments made with the LANKAQR-enabled Sampath WePay digital payments mobile application at Dunhinda Colombo, Roots, Grand Monarch, Street Wok, Lavinia, Spice Junction, Giovanni’s Pizza al Taglio and BoxBar outlets at the Dining Capsule during this period.
“Offering greater convenience and security, technology continues to transform the way we conduct our day to day transactions. This is becoming increasingly true in Sri Lanka too, where consumers and businesses are actively adopting digital payments,” said Nanda Fernando, Managing Director, Sampath Bank PLC. “At Sampath Bank we have always focused on leveraging emerging technologies and delivering market relevant solutions that add value to our customers around the island. In line with this, we are delighted to partner with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on driving the acceptance and usage of LANKAQR.”
“Across Sri Lanka, a growing number of merchants and consumers are getting on board the LANKAQR ecosystem and beginning to appreciate the value offered by QR based payments. We are witnessing this phenomenon with Sampath WePay, the secure, one stop digital wallet from Sampath Bank that allows users to store all types of financial instruments from any bank and carry out a wide range of real-time online transactions. We invite Sampath Bank customers as well as customers of all other banks to join them and avail the convenience and security delivered by LANKAQR enabled payment solutions like Sampath WePay,” said Tharaka Ranwala, Head of Operations and Group Chief Marketing Officer, Sampath Bank PLC.
Sampath Bank also took part in the CBSL’s LANKAQR Colombo drive held at Diyatha Uyana on 23rd January as part of the CBSL Ratapurama LANKAQR initiative. The event was held under the auspices of Chief Guest, Hon. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, State Minister of Money & Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms; Guest of Honour, Yvett Fernando, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Chairperson – National Payment Council; Dharmasri Kumaratunga, Director – Payments and Settlements, Central Bank of Sri Lanka; and other senior representatives from across the industry.
Several licensed commercial banks, licensed specialized banks, licensed finance companies, telecom operators and FinTechs came together to encourage merchants to adopt the national QR Code standard, in line with the CBSL’s vision of paving the way towards a less cash society.
Sampath Bank actively encouraged its partner merchants to get onboard the fast-growing cashless payments ecosystem. The Bank kept several of its branches around Colombo open on the day of the CBSL event and invited its merchant partners to gain a hands-on experience on LANKAQR.
Sampath Bank is a 100% local bank that has deeply rooted itself in the lives of the people of Sri Lanka. Established in 1987, the bank has become a state-of-the-art financial institution that continues to be a market leader today thanks to its constant innovation and customer focused approach to business. It has introduced many firsts to the Sri Lankan banking sector including introducing ATMs to Sri Lanka, extended banking hours and slip-less banking to name a few. The Bank is steadily transforming itself into a ‘tech company engaged in banking,’ from the traditional approach of a bank engaged in technology.