CBSL Director- Bank Payments and Settlements, Dharmasri Kumaratunga presenting SaviruPvt Ltd. Managing Director / CEO, Y. R. P. K Premasara the LANKAQR code, together with HNB Deputy General Manager- Retail and SME Banking, Sanjay Wijemanne, HNB Chief Technology and Digital Officer, Rohan Buultjens and HNB Regional Business Head - South Western Region, Mahinda Senevirathne.
Fuelling the development of a robust cashless payments eco-system, the island’s most future-ready bank, HNB PLC, expanded its support to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)’s pioneering ‘Rata Purama LANKAQR’ initiative with the launch of a promotional campaign for merchants in Maharagama.
The event was hosted at the bank’s Maharagama Customer Centre and featured participation from prominent CBSL and HNB officials.
“When compared with other economies in the region, Sri Lanka still has a lot of ground to cover in order to achieve a truly digitally empowered economy. However since the onset of the COVID pandemic, we have seen unprecedented growth in digital payment solutions.
“The establishment of a common standard for these transactions through LANKA QR is a clear signal that Sri Lanka is making cashless payments that are accessible to all a top priority. We therefore express our gratitude to HNB for wholeheartedly supporting this vital national endeavour, and we look forward to working with them and the banking sector as a whole in order to encourage larger numbers of merchants and customers to adopt QR-based payments as their preferred method of transacting,” CBSL Director - Bank Payments and Settlements Dharmasri Kumaratunga said.
Following the ceremony, several merchants in Maharagama were presented with the LANKAQR code to conduct transactions by the CBSL Director. Teams from HNB customer centers in the region also raised awareness among merchants in the area regarding cashless and contactless payment options available via HNB SOLO.
“With the number of customers shifting to QR-based payments like HNB SOLO recording an unprecedented surge in recent months, we are all excited to support merchants in Maharagama and across the island to get on board with LANKAQR,” HNB Deputy General Manager – Retail and SME Banking, Sanjay Wijemanne said.
Launched in 2019 as HNB’s flagship digital payments solution, SOLO provides the convenience of digital transactions via the affordable, easy and widely-adaptable QR code, a more cost effective option when compared to alternative payment solutions available in the market.
Having already linked LANKAQR to SOLO, HNB is among the leading financial institutions and telecommunication partners driving a cashless QR-code based payments revolution that aims to make mobile phones and digital payments the standard for day-to-day transactions island-wide.
LANKAQR is a common Quick Response (QR) code standard developed by the CBSL.
The bank has continuously bolstered the features and functionality of SOLO while refining its user interface in order to make QR-based payments intuitive, easy to use and versatile.
