money2srilanka from Sampath Bank

Zainul Meeadh

Competing alongside the top most banks in Sri Lanka which boasts of serving the Lankan market for over a century, Sampath Bank has been successful in reaching another level of the banking operation in Sri Lanka with its latest introduction of money2srilanka operation, just within its 25th anniversary.

One of the leading players in the Indian remittance market and its proprietary online portal, ICICI Bank, which is also one of the largest private sector banks in India, has joined hands with Sampath Bank Sri Lanka, where this service is being piloted in Canada and the United Kingdom at present and as the management hopes for, it would shortly be rolled out in Australia, USA, South East Asia and the Euro Zone during its second phase.

The newly launched money2srilanka operation (M2SL), is a web-based online remittance tracking platform which facilitates remittances from various geographies to beneficiaries in Sri Lanka in a convenient, speedy and economical manner.

In an interview with the Daily News Business, Tharaka Ranawala, Deputy General Manager, Marketing and Business Development, said, "Sampath Bank remains committed to extend its expertise in the cross border payments business and the online tracking service for money transfers, which is the first step towards creating a remittance platform for Sri Lanka.

The need and the timely approach by ICICI Bank was highly welcome by the Sri Lankans in Canada and UK, where it is mostly promoted for the time being, which was a result of the lack of Business Promotion Officers (BPO) that are found in the European region compared to the high number of BPOs found in Gulf countries.

"To use this service, a user needs to complete a simple one-time online registration at M2SL and thereafter could avail the tracking service for money transfers from any bank in the geographies where M2SL has been offered to beneficiaries in Sri Lanka.

"The remittance received is available for account holders of ICICI Bank, Sri Lanka and Sampath Bank instantly on the day of receipt of funds in Sri Lanka and the remittances received on behalf of account holders of other banks in Sri Lanka, which would be disbursed via Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System (SLIPS), with the same day value. An important feature of this service is the availability of online tracking facility to trace the status of a transaction from the point of initiation up to the point of payment to the beneficiary," Ranawala added.

"As pointed out and proved efficiently within the first two months of its operation, money to Sri Lanka is a robust plan with an experienced player with the likes of ICICI, where the same operation had been carried out most successfully in India. It is believed that money2srilanka would be used for the best of one's interest for those who are living in Canada and the UK, to help support the growth of their loved ones back at home", concluded Ranawala.