Sampath Bank continues to revolutionise trade industry with best-in-class offerings

International trade is a vital segment of the Sri Lankan economy and a financial support system. This is attuned to the needs of those engaged in import and export, both of which are integral for the sector’s continued growth. As a bank that is constantly evolving to meet the needs of its diverse customers, Sampath Bank is among one of the few financial institutions that has a comprehensive trade service offering.

With a network of 229 branches across the country and 12 super branches operating from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. throughout the year, supported by 14 Import Documentary Collection Units, including two branches with dedicated counters for opening Letters of Credit, accessibility and convenience are the strong suits of Sampath Bank.

 

Enhancing this further, the bank recently opened a Trade Unit at the Colombo Super Branch, giving customers the flexibility to handle their trade transactions until 10.00 p.m., 365 days.  The bank is also looking to open two regional centres in Matara and Kurunegala.

The bank’s import- and export-related processes are automated with the assurance of same-day processing. Traders can also rely on the bank for competitive pricing and the best exchange rates in the market. Moreover, Sampath Bank has over 500 correspondent banks around the world.

The bank also has a dedicated ‘Export House’ that focuses on exporters in the SME sector. Apart from assisting branches in structuring credit facilities to exporters, the unit brings value addition in terms of supporting exporters to find markets, develop products and identify resources for other logistical requirements.

In-house job-related training and fortnightly knowledge sharing sessions are a norm at Sampath Bank. This, combined with professionalism as well as innovation, has helped the bank progress rapidly.   

“At Sampath Bank we constantly encourage feedback from the team and our continuous process improvements are the ideas of users,” said Assistant General Manager, Global Business, Sampath Bank Plc, Sanath Abhayaratne. 

“We are all about advancement and our System Development Department is currently working on improvements to speed up the services to customers through a workflow and Document Management System. With the migration to an upgraded version of the core banking system, straight through processing for trade-related payments would be made available,” he added.

With time and cost being primary factors in the competitive market of import and export, Sampath Bank became the first private bank in the country to have an online payment system exclusively for traders to make payments to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. 

Continuing this advantage of being ahead of the industry, the bank has several specialised products and services that assist traders to expedite trade processing. 

Sampath Export Direct under the Documentary Collection Method eliminates the need to visit the bank, giving exporters the freedom to dispatch documents directly to their buyers overseas even on non-banking days, while Sampath Vishwa Trade Services provides customers with the convenience of establishing Letters of Credit and enquiring about their trade-related transactions online. SMS Alertz, another dedicated offering, immediately notifies exporters upon receipt of proceeds for export bills and receipt of documents for importers. 

With more people migrating from Letters of Credit to Open Account in order to gain cost efficiency, the risk component in export transactions have significantly increased.  The unique Trade Advisory Service that Sampath Bank offers provides assistance to mitigate such risks in international trade. 

Commenting on this, Abhayaratne said: “Going that extra mile for our customers is something we take pride in and the Trade Advisory Service is one such offering. We educate our customers thoroughly on all areas of document preparation as well as the risks and solutions to minimise the same, we extend this training to their staff too if required.” 

Through its partnership with GT Nexus, Sampath Bank is set to transform the local banking industry further, taking Lankan manufacturers to a cloud-based era. 

The partnership will streamline their export operations by facilitating access to capital in the supply chain as early as the purchase order. Continuing to improve international trade, this gives exporters access to over 25,000 existing clients of GT Nexus, opening up a world of new opportunities.