Plastics in, cash on the way out

The way forward for the business community worldwide is through the business of plastics, Sampath Bank Deputy General Manager of Marketing and Business Development Tharaka Ranwala said.

Agreeing with CIM Board Member Brian Selvanayagam who noted that almost 99.9% transactions in the Western world are card-based transactions, Ranwala stated that despite financial crunches and the slight drop in the use of credit cards in the recent past, the business of plastics is increasing. “Within the business of plastics, more are moving into prepaid,” he said.

Sampath Bank, he noted, has done well in the area of credit cards, introducing some industry firsts to the market and revolutionising it along the way. He asserted that the bank had climbed to the number two position in the credit card market, second to HSBC, moving from its place as the seventh two years back. “In terms of volume, the bank even managed to surpass HSBC in the last quarter.”“The secret for our current position is that we bring the customer to the equation, whereas in the past it was only banks acting in the equation. We have decided to share what we earn with the customer and this is what has brought us here.”