Dominates ceremony with 4 Golds, 2 Silvers and a Merit award
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon put on a dazzling display of its prowess in digital innovation recently, winning seven awards including the overall award for banking institutions at Sri Lanka’s only payment technology innovation awards – the LankaPay Technnovation Awards.
The bank’s impressive haul included four Gold awards – for Overall excellence in Interbank Digital Payments for Banking Institutions, Best Bank for Retail Payments, Best Mobile Application for Retail Payments via Lanka QR and Most Innovative Bank of the Year; two Silver awards – for Financial Institution of the Year for Best Digital Payment Strategy and Best LankaPay Card Implementor of the Year; and a Merit award for Bank of the Year for Financial Inclusivity.
“Being recognised as the clear leader in innovation and technological advancements in the banking industry is a tremendous achievement and a testament to Commercial Bank’s commitment to digital transformation and leveraging tech innovations to promote convenience and inclusivity,” Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Mr Sanath Manatunge said. “These awards also affirm that our approach resonates with customers and that we are making a positive impact on their digital banking experiences. This recognition speaks volumes about the success of our strategic initiatives in digital transformation in recent years.”
The judging criteria for the 2023 LankaPay Technnovation awards considered interbank transactions from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022. Commercial Bank has been a consistent winner at the Technnovation Awards programme since its inception five years ago.
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon was the first bank in the country to enable its entire automated teller machine (ATM) network to acquire and process ATM transactions through the EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) integrated circuit, and the first to activate its entire EMV chip card base (Debit and Credit cards) to perform secured EMV transactions through the LankaPay ATM network, making it possible for the Bank’s own cardholders to securely perform transactions using other bank ATMs connected to the LankaPay network.
Notably, the ComBank Q+ Payment app, which was awarded Gold in the category “Best mobile application for retail payments via Lanka QR (Banks and Non Banks), was the first QR-based payment application to be launched on the LANKAQR platform, and became the fastest-growing QR payment App in Sri Lanka in 2022, providing significant support to the national digital drive of the country.
Commercial Bank’s extensive array of digital apps led by its flagship digital banking platform, ComBank Digital, one of the most-used digital banking platforms in the country, showcases its digital supremacy and its digital forward strategy to promote digitizing of banking in Sri Lanka while promoting digital inclusivity. The Bank has launched many of Sri Lanka’s first products and services in this sphere over the years and is a frontrunner in the national drive to digitize banking in Sri Lanka.
Commercial Bank cards are the fastest growing cards in Sri Lanka and enjoy market leadership in credit and debit card cumulative point-of-sale usage. The Bank offers a variety of credit cards in the Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers and a variety of cards in the premium segment. The cards are equipped with ‘Tap ’n Go’ NFC technology and are backed by a strong NFC Point-of-Sale (POS) network. Commercial Bank is also one of the first banks in Sri Lanka to have its point-of-sale (POS) network accept LankaPay-JCB (Japan Credit Bureau) co-branded cards issued under the national card scheme programme.
The LankaPay Technnovation Awards programme aims to recognise the trailblazers of technology innovations in the financial services sector of the country. The awards were launched to enhance the efficiency of Sri Lanka’s national payment network and drive financial inclusivity in the country, which is a key objective of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. They recognise banks, non-banking financial institutions, and FinTech service providers who have been steadfast in the cause of promoting digital payments and enhancing customer convenience through payment technology innovations. The latest and fifth edition of these Awards was held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo.
Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 12 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 270 branches and 950 automated machines in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 20 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.
Photo caption:
The Commercial Bank team led by the Bank’s Chairman Prof. Ananda Jayawardane with Central Bank Governor Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe and other dignitaries at the presentation of the overall award at the LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2023.
