LB Finance ties up with DRP to fast-track digital financial services

Signing of the MoU at the DRP with senior officials of DRP and LB Finance in attendance 

LB Finance, the country’s leading non-banking financier, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department for Registration of Persons (DRP) in order to avail the services of DRP’s online platform for verification of customer National Identification Card (NIC) numbers. 

This is another progressive step the company has taken to expedite and strengthen the customer onboarding process to keep pace with Sri Lanka is fast evolving digital landscape.

The new arrangement will enable the company to validate the NIC particulars furnished by the customers both in physical or digital form against the digital records maintained by the DRP and authenticate their accuracy, thus reducing the risk of identity frauds. 

This initiative is facilitated by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka as an interim solution for financial institutions to carry out non-face-to-face customer onboarding without compromising the KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements. 

“DRP, which now functions within the Ministry of Technology, under the purview of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has embarked upon the significant national initiative of issuing Unique Digital Identity to Sri Lankan citizens. The department hopes to start re-enrolling citizens to the new digital ID system by mid of next year,” stated DRP Commissioner General Viyani Gunathilaka. 

Allowing identified key financial sector institutions to access DRP’s online platform for NIC verification will act as an interim solution until the digital ID is available to all citizens.

“The development is set to revamp the conventional customer onboarding process involving multiple forms of verification, and allow LB Finance to realise considerable efficiencies at the point of onboarding customers for its innovative digital financial services,” stated LB Finance Deputy General Manager – Strategy and Digital Finance Bimal Perera.

The company operates LB CIM (Cash-In-Mobile) an innovative digital wallet cum bank account, its primary customer facing digital platform to extend vast array financial and other value added services to its diverse customer base. LB CIM smart phone application is available for Android and iOS based devices. 

It comes in the form of two separate mobile apps; ‘CIM Customer App’ and ‘CIM Business App’, to cater to the specific needs of customers and retail merchants. Company believes CIM’s ultra-simple design gives it an advantage to become a truly inclusive digital payment solution to Sri Lankan masses. 

From its humble beginnings in 1971, LB Finance has seen remarkable growth over the last five decades, establishing itself as Sri Lanka’s leading non-banking financier today. A hallmark of its success has been the company’s ability to adopt and innovate its product and service offerings to cater to the ever-changing needs of the local consumer. The company believes the agility and the dynamism in its business model are the key attributes in sustaining its performance at the highest level in this highly competitive financial services space.