Union Bank wins 4 awards at LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2017

Standing from left: LankaClear GM/CEO Channa De Silva, Lanka Clear Chairman Anil Amarasuriya, Union Bank AVP Retail Liability Products and Alternate Channels Manisha Fernando, Embassy of Japan Deputy Head of Mission Koji Yagi, Monetary Authority of Singapore Chief Fintech Officer and Keynote Speaker at the event Sopnendu Mohanty, CBSL Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Technology Secretary Wasantha Deshapriya and Union Bank Senior Manager IT Projects Dulin Rajapakse

Union Bank of Colombo PLC gained significant recognition at the inaugural LankaPay Technnovation awards event held on Tuesday at The Kingsbury.

The bank won four awards in key categories, each of which had been adjudged based on the performance of individual banks and non-banking financial institutions against a set criteria defined and communicated at the commencement of the competition period and based on transaction values and volumes achieved by the competing banks in each respective category. 

Union Bank was conferred the prestigious honours at the ceremony which was attended by Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy and featured renowned speaker Sopnendu Mohanty, the Chief Fintech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as the keynote speaker. 

Following are the awards won by the bank:

nWinner – Best Common ATM Acquirer of the Year (Category B: Banks with an ATM network of 100-400)

nWinner – Bank of the Year for Financial Inclusivity (Category C: Highest combined volumes of all channels, with average monthly transactions between 10,000-100,000)  

nWinner – Bank of the Year for Excellence in Customer Convenience (Category C: Combined volumes of SLIPS, CAS and CEFTS with average monthly transactions between 10,000-40,000)

nOverall Merit Award Winner for Excellence in Interbank Payments

Commenting on the exceptional performance of the bank at the awards, Union Bank Chief Executive Officer Indrajit Wickramasinghe said: “We are pleased at the bank’s profound growth and performance in the technological innovation space of the banking industry which has been duly recognised at the Technnovation 2017 awards. As one of the fastest growing commercial banks in the country, Union Bank has been committed to delivering a differentiated banking experience to our clients by investing in the latest technologies that deliver convenience and promote financial inclusion.” 

“Union Bank was also the first in the industry to take the bold step of joining the common ATM switch introduced by Lanka Clear in a pilot project, which turned out be a resounding success.  These awards places Union Bank at a leading position in ‘technnovation’ within the industry and acknowledges the great strides it has made in the direction of developing technology-driven banking conveniences. We will remain committed to our vision of becoming an innovator of banking solutions and to be the bank of choice for the wider retail, SME and corporate clientele, through continuous investment on banking innovation and technology,” Wickramasinghe further stated.

Following TPG’s landmark investment in 2014, Union Bank set off on a transformational journey of growth with a vision of becoming one of the leading commercial banks in the industry. As a part of its growth strategy, the bank made significant investments in technologies that offer customer convenience and ease-of-transaction for its growing base of clients. Joining the common ATM switch powered by LankaClear to increase the efficiency of payment management such as CEFTS and SLIPS, focused expansion of its remote ATM network, rolling out of an enhanced digital banking platform, educating the remote communities through collaborated road shows and customisation of cash management services are some of such major steps taken by Union Bank to improve its product and service delivery across all customer segments. The awards acknowledge and recognise the success of these initiatives which have reaped results in terms of notable transaction volumes, increased customer satisfaction and retention along with better brand awareness for the Bank, especially amongst remote communities. 

“We believe that the growing popularity of digital innovations and the growing internet/mobile penetration in Sri Lanka will open up more economical pathways for the financial services industry to take its solutions to even the most remote clientele in the country. Union Bank will continue to invest in such solutions that will promote financial inclusion and deliver enhanced convenience to our clients,” Wickramasinghe further opined. 

LankaPay Technnovation awards are a collaborative effort to enhance the efficiency of the country’s national payment infrastructure and promote the use of electronic transactions. The awards recognise member banks and non-banking financial institutions that have remained committed to this cause and have excelled in this endeavour.