Sri Lanka’s Central Bank launches mobile application for national remittances ‘Lanka Remit’
The Morning: Lanka Remit, the mobile application for national remittance, was launched by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) recently.
The launch ceremony was graced by Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Development Coordination and Monitoring, and State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development Namal Rajapaksa.
Speaking at the event, National Development Bank (NDB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dimantha Seneviratne said: “Remittances sent by Sri Lankans overseas is a critical component in terms of balancing payments and it is the single largest source of foreign funds.”
Seneviratne also elaborated that 12 leading banks and financial institutions in Sri Lanka along with the CBSL and LankaClear put effort in finding alternatives and supporting to enhance remittances to the country as it tracks the transfers with a lower cost.
He also expressed his expectation that many other such institutions would join with Lanka Remit in contributing to further enhance seamless transactions through this mobile application. In addition to this, there are also plans to link exchange houses with the app.
Seneviratne said that the mobile application supports value-added services (VAS) such as direct bill payments with a lower transaction cost.
He further said that almost two million are employed overseas which is a 10% from the country’s population while making remittances of around $ 7 billion per year.
Making the opening remarks at the event, LankaClear (Pvt.) Ltd. Chairman Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa stated that this mobile application was able to be launched within a short period of just two months. He highlighted that Sri Lanka needs an innovative business model and should work towards breaking away from the obsolete economic theories.
Lanka Remit will be available to download from the App Store and Google Play Store.
Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Development Coordination and Monitoring, and State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development Namal Rajapaksa, CBSL Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Deputy Governors and Assistant Governor of the CBSL, ministry secretaries, and officials from banks and other financial institutions were also present at the Lanka Remit launch event.
OSL take:
The government of Sri Lanka is committed to transforming the country into a digital economy through the expansion and diversification of digital platforms. With Sri Lanka positioning itself as an emerging business destination in the South Asian region, a host of new business/investment opportunities have opened up in the ICT and digital infrastructure development sectors. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore explore the growing opportunities in Sri Lanka’s ICT and digital infrastructure development sectors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/17022022/Z_8 |