The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced the launch of Host-to-Host (H2H) payment services for corporate clients as the latest addition to ComBank Digital Enterprise Solutions – the Bank’s comprehensive and powerful suite of cutting-edge digital banking solutions for SMEs and corporates.
H2H is an automated and secure solution that integrates directly with a corporate client’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, and is designed to facilitate the electronic transfer of data between banks and their corporate clients. This technology eliminates the need for manual processes involved in payment transfers and reconciliations, making overall transaction management more efficient and reliable, the Bank said.
An automated solution for high volume data transfer between banks and corporate clients without having to sign in to a banking app or a web interface, the H2H solution allows clients to generate and transfer files in standard industry formats such as XML or CSV, through a secure channel established between the client’s ERP system and the Bank’s H2H platform. The system supports a variety of ERP platforms, including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle Cloud, Odoo, and open-source ERP systems.
“ComBank Digital Enterprise Solutions with secure Host-to-Host integration represents a unified platform that supports business growth and digital transformation,” Commercial Bank’s Assistant General Manager – Digital Banking Mr Pradeep Banduwansa said. “H2H opens up a world of opportunities for them to seamlessly conduct bulk transactions and automated reconciliation of payments between the ERP system and bank statements with enhanced efficiency and security, and offers instant access to all the data they need.”
He said Commercial Bank’s H2H solution is particularly tailored to enhance business capabilities by streamlining processes such as payments, collections, bulk file transfers, and reconciliation, all of which are critical for corporate clients handling large volumes of data. Besides payments, the solution encompasses data transmission to automated reconciliations, bank account inquiry through the ERP system without logging into a system of the Bank, LC transmission and processing of various requests from the Bank.
Several corporate clients of Commercial Bank have already integrated their ERP systems with ComBank Digital for H2H services, Mr Banduwansa disclosed. These companies, which handle high volumes of transactions, benefit greatly from the streamlined processes, real-time capabilities, and enhanced security offered by H2H, allowing them to manage their financial operations more efficiently and effectively.
H2H connectivity solutions incorporate security measures such as encryption, digital signatures, and secure communication protocols and give the bank the flexibility to exchange information in corporate clients’ preferred file formats, network protocols and security standards on a 24×7 basis.
When payment files are transferred via H2H, they are processed in real-time by the Bank, whether the transactions are to accounts within Commercial Bank or to accounts in other banks. The process includes two primary authorisation methods: Pre-Authorised Payment Files, which are authorised within the client’s ERP system before being uploaded to the bank, and Post-Authorised Payment Files, which require authorisation through ComBank Paymaster after the file is uploaded.
The automated processes eliminate manual intervention, significantly reducing the risk of errors and ensuring that transactions are processed quickly. Direct integration with major ERP systems allows for seamless operation, providing customers with greater transparency and ease of use, and the flexibility of initiating payment processes without logging-in to multiple platforms. This simplifies their workflow and saves time.
The flagship digital product of Commercial Bank and Sri Lanka’s most-used digital banking platform, ComBank Digital now serves over 1.4 million customers, and processes more than 4 million transactions a month. ComBank Digital is offered via a responsive web application and three native mobile applications (iOS, Android and Huawei), enabling access across all devices such as desktop PCs, laptop computers, tabs and smart phones.
For corporate customers, ComBank Digital already enables payments to government authorities such as the Department of Commerce (DOC), Import and Export Control Department (IECD), the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) for cargo, vessel, and entry permit payments, Sri Lanka Customs, Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Employees Trust Fund (ETF), Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), and the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI). These payments are routed through the LankaPay Online Payment Platform (LPPOP).
Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, Commercial Bank is the largest private sector bank in Sri Lanka and the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World. The Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector, and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. Commercial Bank operates a strategically-located network of branches and 974 automated machines island-wide, and has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan Banks, with 20 outlets in Bangladesh, a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, and a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake in the Maldives.