LOLC Group impresses with top Tech Innovator Awards

The LOLC Group claimed top honours once again at the LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2018 organised by LankaClear Ltd. for the second consecutive year, to recognise and appreciate the vanguards in payment technology. 

LOLC’s flagship finance entity and Sri Lanka’s largest Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI), LOLC Finance PLC which continued their winning streak for the second year was crowned as the overall winner for Excellence in Interbank Payments in the Financial Institutions Category, while Commercial Leasing & Finance Company PLC (CLC), a subsidiary of the LOLC Group which is renowned as a trusted brand synonymous with stability and dependability, bagged the Runner-up Award in the same category. LOLC Finance also went on to secure the Award for the Best Financial Institution of the Year for Customer Convenience while its sister company, CLC clinched the Runner-up Award. LOLC Finance took home the third award for the night when it won the Merit Award for the Best Application for Retail Payments. 

Meanwhile, iPay – the revolutionary payment platform powered by LOLC was crowned as the Winner of the Most Popular Electronic Payment Product and the Runner-up of the Best Application for Retail Payments. With LOLC Finance operating as its merchant acquiring partner, iPay is acclaimed internationally as a mobile app that has been developed on an advanced software architecture. The app includes a host of features designed to securely integrate the customer and merchant ecosystem, making it a true Fintech (Financial Technology) application beyond just payments. 

The LankaPay Technnovation Awards is Sri Lanka’s first and only annual payment technology innovation awards and this year which was the second edition of the awards presented 33 accolades under 15 categories. The awards ceremony was held under the patronage of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment Deputy Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, State Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne and Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy. The Awards criteria for 2018 considered the interbank payments during the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018, shortlisting the performance of individual banks, non-banking financial institutions and FinTech service providers. 

LOLC Group Managing Director/CEO Kapila Jayawardena expressing his thoughts about the Group’s achievements at the second LankaPay Technnovation Awards said, “In a world of rapid change, especially technological advances, the LOLC Group has not simply adapted but thrived. LOLC’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy has become more than just a business enabler to us. Through our ICT strategy we are geared to promote faster adoption of Fintech solutions that will allow our company to be agile and flexible to the market and the ever-evolving customer needs. We as a leading conglomerate in the forefront of innovation and with a global presence, will continue on our digital transformation journey offering customer centric solutions on par with international standards.”  

LOLC Group Chief Information Officer Conrad Dias commented, “We have witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of online transactions in just a span of one year. This growth collectively demonstrates that our apps – LOLC Real Time, CLC Online and iPay which facilitate real time, secure transactions are well accepted by both customers and merchants. Over the past year, we took steps to introduce many new value added features to our applications such as trilingual support. Whilst offering new features both digital and physical elements of the Group’s business model was combined to introduce a phy-gital customer service experience. Whilst taking great strides in the area of Fintech in a short span of time, we continue to ensure that all our services meet the highest levels of information security standards.” 

The LOLC Group is a leading diversified conglomerate present in the foremost economic sectors of the country which has also successfully ventured into regional nations by setting up operations in Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Indonesia with more plans in the pipeline for overseas expansion. The Group’s ICT strategy enables the standardisation of its operations across all regions and locations whilst enhancing customer convenience. LOLC’s flagship finance company – LOLC Finance has been in the vanguard of introducing ground-breaking financial services and products to the domestic financial services sector since its establishment in 2003.

It was one of the first NBFIs that received the mandate to introduce Foreign Currency Savings accounts and the first NBFI to register for SWIFT transactions. The company also pioneered the transferable Fixed Deposit Bond. In the internet and mobile banking landscape, LOLC Finance became one of the first NBFIs to connect with the CEFTS. 

Adding to this, the LOLC Real Time mobile app is one of the most advanced and secure Real Time payment gateways launched thus far in the NBFI industry of Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, CLC has taken many key initiatives to enable its clientele with complete customer freedom through its digital and technological advancement measures which has today become one of the company’s key growth drivers. As a futuristic company, CLC offers user-friendly, 24-hour banking at leisure through the introduction of its multi-platform digital solutions that are in line with the LOLC Group’s bold ICT strategy.