BOC promotes Smart Remit

Monday, 29 December 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

As the first bank that introduced the Non Resident Foreign Currency (NRFC) account, the Bank of Ceylon has established an unassailable position in the financial services market. At the time of writing the Bank of Ceylon has a 40% share of the Inward Remittances Market and a 35% share of the NRFC Deposits market. Many steps were taken recently by Bank of Ceylon to increase the volume of NRFC deposits and Inward Remittances. In this regard, we made inquiries from Bank of Ceylon’s Deputy General Manager (International, Treasury and Investments) recently.

Q: Could you explain to us the remittances programs which the Bank of Ceylon, in this 75th anniversary year, has introduced for the benefit of those of our countrymen who are living in foreign countries? A: On 1 August this year, Bank of Ceylon, the premier bank and financial services provider in the country, celebrated its 75th Anniversary on a grand scale. As part of this many steps were taken to boost its NRFC accounts and foreign currency remittances. We focus a lot of attention on the safety and security of the deposits made by the public. Using the BOC Smart Remit facility which was introduced recently any person residing in a foreign country can send money very quickly to their friends, family and relatives. Q: Could you give us more details about this BOC Smart Remit? A: This BOC Smart Remit remittance method is very simple, safe and reliable and its special feature is that money reaches the person instantly. The recipient or beneficiary has the convenience of withdrawing their money at any of our 620 branches or our ATM network spread island-wide. In the Smart Remit method both the person sending the money and the person receiving the money get SMS messages. The sender gets a message that the money has been sent and person receiving gets a message that money has been received. Bank of Ceylon also gives their customers attractive exchange rates and interest rates. Q: What are the countries where this system is available and what was the reason for the introduction of such a system? A: As a state bank, as a part of our commitment to contribute to economic development, in order to help to our Sri Lankan expatriates to send home the money they earn in foreign countries we have placed our representative officers in Middle Eastern countries like Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and also in Italy, South Korea and Israel. To make it easier to send money we have placed more that 30 representative officers in Italy, South Korea, Israel, Australia and the Middle East. Through them we provide advice and assistance to those customers who want to send money. Our main objective in establishing this system is to ensure that those who send money without using formal channels have a secure and safe way to send their money. Q: Could you tell us about ways, other than BOC Smart Remit, which could be used to send money to Bank of Ceylon? A: Apart from BOC Smart Remit, to offer a wide choice of services for the use of our customers, we have also made available the services of channels like SWIFT, Moneygram, Ez Remit, X Press Money, Al-Far dan, Coin star, RIA, PrabhuMoney and Segue. Q: Do you have a message for customers with regard to the New Year 2015? A: In this festive season we are experiencing a huge increase in foreign remittances and our staff is standing by with instructions to provide this cash instantly to the persons receiving the money. We have installed up-to-date technology and required facilities to ensure that the money sent by our customers is received instantly by their families, relatives and friends. I also wish our customers a peaceful, happy and prosperous New Year.