Dialog Axiata launches Mobile Money Service
Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA
Dialog Axiata announced the launch of the country’s first Mobile
Money Service following being awarded a license under the aegis of the
Payments and Settlements Act No 28 of 2005.
Custodial Banking services for Sri Lanka’s pioneering mobile money
service will be provided by Hatton National Bank PLC. State of the art
Mobile Money technology introduced by Dialog under the brand name, eZ
Cash, enables mobile subscribers to maintain a mobile money account in
their mobile phone.
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The Governor of the
Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Telecom Regulatory
Commission Director General, Anusha Palpita inaugurating
Sri Lanka's first Mobile Money service by completing a
money transfer transaction on Dialog Axiata's eZ Cash
service. Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Group Chief Executive of
Dialog Axiata PLC and Jonathan Alles, Deputy Chief
Executive Officer of Hatton National Bank PLC look on. |
Using their eZ Cash mobile money account, customers can now send and
receive money to/from more than 7.5 million Dialog mobile users, settle
utility bills and make payments for other goods and services, direct
from their mobile phone.
The initiative while enabling Dialog mobile phone users to carry out
transactions will also support large degree of financial inclusion. This
will enable mobilizing of significant amount of funds to the formal
economy encompassed by every segment of society, Director and Group
Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said.
“We are privileged to have the opportunity to lead Sri Lanka’s mobile
industry in to the era of Mobile Money, an era which will see the mobile
phone become a versatile cash transacting and payment instrument,” he
said.
“Mobile Money technology will transform the way we transact cash and
will enable electronic money interchange and electronic payments to be
brought within the reach of every Sri Lankan citizen. The dawn of the
Mobile Money era in Sri Lanka has been made possible by the progressive
and financial inclusion focused regulatory ethos of the Central Bank of
Sri Lanka. In this respect Sri Lanka’s payments and settlement
legislation and mobile payment regulations stand among the most
progressive in the world.
Emboldened by the support and facilitation received from the Central
Bank, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and our custodian bank
HNB, we are confident that this pioneering initiative to deliver a
nationwide Mobile Money service will deliver an unprecedented level of
financial inclusion through the empowerment of millions of Sri Lankan
citizens with electronic money transfer and payment facilities,” Dr.
Wijayasuriya added.
“Achieving Financial Inclusion through progressive regulation and
innovation has been a principal and consistent ethos of the Central Bank
of Sri Lanka,” Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal said.
“Accordingly, the Mobile Payment regulations and associated enabling
environment established by the CBSL has been designed to extend the
benefits of sending and receiving money and electronic payment via a
mobile phone to all segments of society.
“Over the past decade, the mobile phone has no doubt transformed the
lives of millions of Sri Lankan citizens from across all parts of the
country. Now with the facility to transfer money and make payments
direct from the mobile phone, a vast majority of our population would be
further empowered with the power and efficacy of electronic
transactions. It gives me great pleasure to see that Dialog, Sri Lanka’s
leading mobile operator has risen to the challenge of bringing this
product to the market, building on the enabling environment established
under the aegis of the Payments and Settlements Act.
It is also heartening to see the innovation drive of the banking and
telecommunication sectors come together to further the common cause of
citizen empowerment and financial inclusion, with HNB playing the role
of the custodian bank and Deutsche Bank acting as the trustee for Sri
Lanka’s first Mobile Money Service”, he said. “We are pleased to see
that our efforts towards making Mobile Telephony services available and
affordable to all have contributed in no small manner to the enhancement
of the quality of life of Sri Lankans” Director - General of the
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL). Anusha
Palpita said. “The use of the mobile phone to send and receive money and
engage in transactions with the broader retail and enterprise sectors of
the economy,has increased efficiency and expedited the time taken to
conclude a business transaction thereby giving a big boost to the
national economy,”he said.
“We must record our appreciation of the Central Bank for its far
sighted vision and efforts in developing the necessary enabling
regulations thus making it possible for mobile phone based electronic
transactions to be conducted in Sri Lanka, and in turn delivering a wide
range of benefits to the people of this country.
We must further register our appreciation of the contribution made by
Dialog in directing its innovative capability to develop a service which
constitutes another noteworthy landmark as we move ahead on the road
towards embracing cutting edge mobile communications,”
Palpita added.
Hatton National Bank Chief Executive Officer Rajendra Theagarajah,
speaking on the role of HNB in supporting Sri Lanka’s first mobile money
service said “Today, Sri Lanka enters a new era in Payment Solutions
through mobile phones, facilitating low value transactions and fund
transfers within the country, bringing about much aspired convenience
through affordable technology. This solution will provide the platform
for financial inclusion of all Sri Lankans and is part of the overall
development roadmap envisioned for the country’s electronic payments
landscape. HNB, with its island-wide retail banking presence, is proud
to be the Custodian Bank supporting Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s
mobile market leader, in this ground breaking venture.
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