Commercial Bank woos remittance recipients with “Double the Value” offer

Sri Lankans receiving remittances from overseas over the next two months can double their money,when they collect remittancesfrom the Commercial Bank of Ceylon, the country’s largest private bank.

The bank has announced that it will pay out a million rupees in its ‘Double the Value You Receive’ promotion, to users of Commercial Bank ‘e-Exchange’ – the bank’s sophisticated real-time on-line money transfer service, as well as to those who use MoneyGram, Ria or Express Money remittance services.

Recipients of remittances up to 31 August will go into a computer-conducted draw to select winners of this promotion, the bank said. The maximum prize money to a single beneficiary will be Rs. 50,000, and winners whose remittance values are Rs. 50,000 or below, will double their money.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon is one of the most active players in Sri Lanka in the field of remittances, offering customers a range of options. Remitters can send money even without having an account in the bank. Commercial Bank has its own Business Promotion Officers (BPOs) in key markets around the world where significant numbers of Sri Lankans are employed.

The bank’s own e-Exchange platform is a highly secure, low cost money transfer facility which is available to remitters via a network of agents in over 50 countries. Recipients of remittances can collect proceeds from any of the bank’s 243 branches in Sri Lanka, more than 60 of which are open even on bank holidays, and access their funds through its network of 613  ATMs, which is the largest cash-dispensing system owned by a single bank in the country. The bank has also provided a facility to track the status of the e Exchange remittance online and the recipient receives a SMS alert once the remittance is received by the system.

MoneyGram is a global funds transfer servicethat operates an international network of approximately 256,000 agent locations, enabling people to conveniently and reliably send cash to recipients in approximately 192 countries and territories. Commercial Bank is one of the preferred MoneyGram agent networks in Sri Lanka for collection of remittances.

Ria Financial Services, the third largest money transfer company in the world, offers 140,000 agent locations via its global network in 136 countries on six continents.

Express Money has established one of the largest remittance networks in the industry, with 170,000 agent locations in 150 countries.

“As a result of our partnership with all of these international funds transfer companies, we have covered virtually every location on the planet from which someone may wish to send funds to Sri Lanka,” said PradeepBanduwansa, Chief Manager e Banking. “This vast global network, combined with our countrywide presence and reputation makes Commercial Bank one of the most widely used banks in Sri Lanka for collection of remittances.”

The only Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the top 1,000 banks of the world for the past four years, and ranked the Best Bank in Sri Lanka by FinanceAsia in 2015, Commercial Bank is the winner of multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s best bank over several years. The bank was ranked the most valuable private sector brand in Sri Lanka in 2014 and was adjudged one of Sri Lanka’s 10 best corporate citizens by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in 2013 and 2014.

It has been rated the Most Respected Bank in Sri Lanka by LMD, a leading business magazine, for the past 10 years. The bank has also been the second Most Respected Corporate entity in the country overall for the past four years in the LMD rankings, and has been rated No. 1 in Sri Lanka for Honesty in 2013 and 2014 by the magazine.