Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon has tied up with an Indian mobile commerce firm to start a text message based electronic payment system that could overtake credit card transactions, officials said.
Bank of Ceylon’s new service allows its six million customers to use pay shops that join the system at the cost of a text message using a system developed by India’s, PayMate.
The mobile transaction service will initially start with selected large merchants like SriLankan Airlines, Odel, Singer, Abans and Stone & String before linking up retailers in rural areas.
“This opens a lot of avenues to merchants because we are bringing them six million of our customers,” Bank of Ceylon’s IT chief Nissanka Janaratne said.
Read the full report in LBO here.
2 Comments
Susantha
Its nice to see a government bank taking the initiative. This indicates ‘Ceylon’ is catching up with the world finally despite all the ostacles its facing. Good work n keep it up.
desilva
i want to check my account details
LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya at the Launch of State of India’s Digital Economy Report
The ICRIER-PROSUS Center for Internet and Digital Economy (IPCIDE) had its annual conference in New Delhi on the 1st of June 2026 in New Delhi, India. LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya participated in the opening panel and discussed the report.
Harnessing Data for Democratic Development in South and Southeast Asia: South Korea Country Report
This report on data protection in South Korea is part of the “Harnessing Data for Democratic Development in South and Southeast Asia” (D4DAsia) project, which aims, inter alia, to create and mobilize new knowledge about the tensions, gaps, and evolution of the data governance ecosystem, taking into account both formal and informal policies and practices. This report presents a focused case study of South Korea’s evolving data protection framework and its efforts to balance strong privacy protections with data-driven innovation
Harnessing Data for Democratic Development in South and Southeast Asia: Nepal Country Report
This report on data governance in Nepal is part of the “Harnessing Data for Democratic Development in South and Southeast Asia” (D4DAsia) project, which aims, inter alia, to create and mobilize new knowledge about the tensions, gaps, and evolution of the data governance ecosystem, taking into account both formal and informal policies and practices. The report provides an overview of Nepal’s constitutional and governance framework and examines the laws, policies, and institutional arrangements that shape the collection, processing, storage, access, and sharing of data.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
9A 1/1, Balcombe Place
Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2026 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific