Sampath Bank joins Damro to support CBSL’s nationwide LankaQR rollout

From left: Central Bank Director – Payments and Settlements Department Dharmasri Kumaratunge, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Development Coordination and Monitoring and State Minister of Digital Technology and Entrepreneur Development Namal Rajapaksa, Sampath Bank Managing Director Nanda Fernando and Damro Group of Companies Deputy Chairman Lahiru Ramanayake at the launch of ‘LankaQR Janagathakaranaya’ held at the CBSL

Building on its longstanding efforts to drive the adoption and usage of LankaQR-based payments in the island, Sampath Bank delivered LankaQR payment acceptance capabilities to one of the country’s leading diversified conglomerates, Damro Group.

Damro’s showrooms around the island will now begin accepting cashless and contactless payments using LankaQR. Customers – Sampath Bank accountholders as well as people with accounts in other banks – can simply scan these unique QR codes appearing on the PoS screens and pay using LankaQR-enabled payment solutions like Sampath WePay, without having to touch cash, cards, or payment terminals. 

The partnership was unveiled at the launch of ‘LankaQR Janagathakaranaya’, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) LankaQR nationwide rollout campaign aimed at popularising LankaQR payments among small and medium merchants and consumers, held at the CBSL premises recently.

This move is part of Sampath Bank’s ongoing efforts to support the Government and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) vision of creating a less cash society by accelerating the adoption of digital payments. Serving as an active partner in the CBSL’s ‘Ratapurama LankaQR’ initiative, Sampath Bank continues to drive adoption and usage of LankaQR-based payments by engaging and educating its customers and merchant partners around the island on the safety and convenience offered by digital payment systems like LankaQR.

“At Sampath Bank, we have always strived to leverage technology to deliver innovative solutions that offer greater value to all Sri Lankans. Our team’s in-depth knowledge of evolving customer needs as well as fin-tech expertise has helped us drive the digital transformation of the nation’s financial services landscape through our pathbreaking solutions like Sampath WePay,” said Sampath Bank PLC Managing Director Nanda Fernando. 

“As a longstanding partner of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s initiatives around promoting the acceptance and usage of LankaQR, we are excited to extend LankaQR payment acceptance to the Damro Group. We invite more merchants and consumers around the island to avail themselves of the safety and convenience of digital payments.”

Bringing QR code-based payments to merchants, this innovative solution reduces the cost of adopting digital payments, making them more accessible to merchants of all sizes. They will also be able to receive confirmation of sales and have the funds credited to their bank accounts as Sampath Bank’s systems would be linked with the merchant’s PoS systems. Furthermore, merchants will also be able to save on transaction fees too on the LankaQR platform.

Sampath Bank has continued to deliver innovative solutions like this to take the benefits of digital payments closer to all Sri Lankans. The bank introduced touchless cash withdrawals at ATMs for the first time in Sri Lanka recently. Eliminating the need to touch the surface of an ATM, the path-breaking solution allows Sampath Bank customers and customers of all other banks in the country to withdraw the funds in their accounts and cards at any Sampath Bank ATM around the island by simply scanning the QR code displayed on the ATM screen using the Sampath ‘WePay’ app.