LankaClear sees solid financial growth in FY14

Wednesday, 3 September 2014 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s national payment infrastructure provider, LankaClear Ltd, which is jointly-owned by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and all licensed commercial banks operating in the country, recorded a 8.2% growth in revenue in the financial year 2013/14, achieving the highest ever revenue figure of Rs. 463 million. These figures were revealed at its Annual General Meeting, which was held on 29 August at the Hotel Galadari in Colombo. Despite the pressure on costs due to the implementation of the Common Card and Payment Switch project during the year, the company managed to maintain the PAT steady with only a marginal decline of 1.1% compared to the previous financial year recording a PAT of Rs. 187 million. The company’s Net Assets per Share increased to Rs. 71.98 from the previous year’s Rs. 61.41.

Since its beginning as the Sri Lanka Automated Clearing House, LankaClear has paved the way for a digital future with seamless electronic payments. During the year under review, the company cleared 48.3 million cheques through its inventive Cheque Imaging and Truncation System (CITS) where the total value of cheques cleared was Rs. 7,228 billion, whilst the value of transactions through Sri Lanka Inter-Bank Payments System (SLIPS) recorded a mammoth Rs. 744 billion – an encouraging growth of 21%. Cash withdrawals from ATMs powered by LankaPay’s Common ATM Switch also recorded an impressive average month-on-month growth of 8.4% during the period of review where 1.3 million cash withdrawals were facilitated over a period of 8 months through the LankaPay Common ATM Network, with a total value of Rs. 6.7 billion being disbursed through the network. LankaPay serves as an integral pillar of the banking and financial services sector of Sri Lanka, providing safe, secure and affordable seamless payment services to businesses and individuals alike. The company’s vision for ‘financial inclusion’ sets the trends for its innovations, as LankaPay’s digital solutions are accessible to all segments driving towards a paper-less society, delivering cost-efficiencies all round. LankaClear’s Chairperson Priyantha Liyanage said, “Worldwide, the banking and financial services industry is now moving away from cash-driven branch-based banking towards cashless payment channels like POS, online shopping and online banking in order to increase efficiencies. Payment card volumes are also growing rapidly, a trend we are witnessing in Sri Lanka too. In this journey, payment infrastructure providers have to play a significant role. LankaClear, which was established in 2002 to perform one of the statutory functions of Central Bank of Sri Lanka, has in leaps and bounds become the giant in the electronic payment domain in Sri Lanka. “With the objective of promoting nation-wide non-cash retail payment systems, the Common Card and Payment Switch is currently being implemented with the guidance of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. In the meantime, LankaClear aims to establish the interoperability among payment networks of Middle Eastern and Asian countries and also route inward remittances through the national channel, adhering to international standards and best practices. With a passionate and dedicated team, we are certain that LankaClear will continue to be the driving force behind the revolution towards a cashless payment regime in Sri Lanka.” LankaClear’s General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Sunimal Weerasooriya explained, “The significant growth in SLIPS transaction volumes are testimony to the increasing awareness and confidence placed in electronic payments in Sri Lanka, as both businesses and individuals take advantage of the empowerment we have delivered. This rapid upward movement strengthens our confidence in the success of the ‘LankaPay’ network and the forthcoming innovations that will take us towards real-time electronic payments on the go, further redefining how Sri Lankans transact. “We are immensely proud of our performance during the year, and the efficiencies LankaClear has delivered to users whilst placing Sri Lanka on the regional financial services map with a number of innovative firsts. We will continue our push as a strategic national development partner. ” LankaClear is now in the process of introducing Real Time Electronic Payments, Mobile Payments, POS Payments and a National Card Scheme as part of its Common Card and Payments Switch implementation, which will serve as significant value additions to the payments infrastructure in the country.