Seylan Bank wins 4 prestigious honours at LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2017

The bank with a heart, Seylan Bank, took centre-stage at the recently-concluded LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2017, where it won four key awards as Runner up of the ‘Overall excellence in Interbank Payments’ category; Top award Winner of ‘Best Bank for Seamless Back-end Operations’; Winner of the ‘Bank of the Year for Financial Inclusivity’ in Category B and Winner of ‘Bank of the Year for Excellence in Customer Convenience’ in Category B. 

The LankaPay Technnovation Awards is Sri Lanka’s first and the only payment technology innovation awards event to recognise banks and non-banking financial institutions who promote electronic transactions facilitated via the LankaPay national payment network. LankaClear is the operator of LankaPay, the national payment network, and has been providing a vital national service via the country’s banking and financial sector. These awards bestowed on Seylan Bank reflect the financial and operational excellence followed by the bank.

Team Seylan receiving the awards

Seylan Bank has adopted advanced technology and devised innovative products and services in electronic banking in alignment with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s mission to lower the cost of banking transactions and revolutionise traditional payment modes. As one of the pioneers in electronic banking, Seylan Bank is geared to drive customer convenience and enable innovative digital payment channels.

Seylan Bank is closely allied with LankaPay and operates on various LankaPay product platforms. The first of these is the Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System (SLIPS), an online interbank electronic fund transfer system, which enables movement of funds from one account to another without the corresponding piece of paper to authorise or prove that the transfer had occurred. Thus, crediting and debiting of accounts are handled more promptly and accurately without the need to write cheques, pay orders or vouchers. 

The bank is also present on the Common Electronic Fund Transfer Switch (CEFTS), for real-time bank transfers for payments within seconds and electronic payment by customers 24×7 and through 365 days of the year. CEFT is also for interbank payments and both SLIPs and CEFTs transactions can be done by the customers themselves through the internet and mobile applications from anywhere any place, no need to visit the bank.

As a result of Seylan Bank’s presence on LankaPay’s Common ATM Switch (CAS), customers are able to enjoy island wide, secure ATM access at all ATMs of the participating banks at the most affordable rates.

Seylan Bank has gone a step further to subscribe to LankaPay’s USD draft clearing System locally to expedite realisation and eliminate delays to obtain credit by the depositors. Therefore, depositors are able to obtain funds as early as the fourth working day, reducing the cost and the delays significantly. 

The bank is also present on Sri Lanka Interbank US Dollar On-line Payment System in order to deliver benefits such as enhanced convenience and lower per transaction cost for the bank and its customers, a significant reduction of correspondent bank charges which curtail foreign exchange outflow, and enhanced turnaround time and prompt in-time zone settlement, while promoting overall greater efficiency in small value commercial transactions. Due to Lanka Clear Interbank US Dollar payment system arrangement locally our foreign currency account holders are benefitting greatly. 

Seylan Bank also facilitates transactions with the SL Rupee Cheque Clearing and Overview system, which eliminates the actual cheque movement in cheque clearing and reduces the delays associated with the physical movement of cheques. When it comes to Inward cheque clearing, Seylan Bank is below the industry norms, as 98% of Seylan Bank’s cheques are accepted and are paid on time. The bank has taken steps to implement proper systems and processes in place to ensure streamlined operations. 

Seylan Bank Assistant General Manager – Operations Rohini Weerakkody comments, “We are delighted to win four key awards at the LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2017, which reflect on our leadership in the digital front. By adopting a host of LankaPay platforms, Seylan Bank is able to deliver convenience and efficiency, while raising the profile of the banking industry. We are proud to be one the few banks which make credit card payments through CEFT available for our customers. 

“Recently, the bank has taken steps to re-launch its retail Internet banking portal and mobile banking app with new features which deliver advanced benefits to our customers. We have fully integrated our front office and back office operations with our branches for faster decision making, customer convenience and improved turnaround times. In order to enhance customer care, we offer 365-day banking and weekend banking in major cities. Whether it is our over-the-counter banking or mobile and Internet banking services, Seylan Bank is pioneering innovation on all fronts. We are grateful for LankaClear’s support in our endeavour to spearhead electronic banking. We thank our valued clients for the continued support and the confidence placed in our bank.”