Offers up to 75% of monthly pension as an advance; up to Rs 2.5 million as a loan
Pensioners below the age of 69 can now apply for an advance of up to 75% on their previous month’s pension, thanks to a new Pension Advance Facility introduced by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon.
Government pensioners, widows and widowers who receive their pension through the Government Pensions Department, pensioners of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and pensioners of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) who have at least one of their pensions of Rs 10,000 or more credited to a Commercial Bank account will be eligible for this facility, the Bank said.
After applying for the facility just once, eligible persons can enjoy up to a maximum of Rs 50,000 as an advance on their pensions when the need arises. This amount can be withdrawn at any ATM in the country using a Commercial Bank Debit card.
Additionally, pensioners who credit their pensions to accounts at Commercial Bank can also apply for personal loans of up to Rs. 2.5 million with a repayment period of up to 10 years, the Bank said.
Commenting on these special facilities, Commercial Bank’s Chief Operating Officer Mr Sanath Manatunge said: “There are more than 600,000 government pensioners in the country, all of whom have rendered valuable service to the nation. Our new scheme is a means of empowering them by offering access to disposable income that can meet their urgent cash requirements without having to wait for the pension remittance date.”
The only Sri Lankan Bank to be ranked among the world’s top 1000 banks for eight years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 263 branches and 800 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The Bank has won multiple international and local awards in 2016 and 2017 and 20 international awards in the first eight months of 2018.
Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon and a Microfinance company in Nay PyiTaw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.