HSBC’s Virtual Account to help banking sector

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

Sri Lanka is heavily over banked considering the geography and population of the country, said HSBC CEO for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Nick A Nicolaou. He was addressing the media on the launch of Virtual Account, an innovative receivable solution for the banking sector.

He said that HSBC competes with global giants and added that it will not be moved by the entry of new banks. "The bank has been recognised for best-in-class solutions”, Nicolaou said.

HSBC was awarded the Best Cash Management Bank and the Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Bank in Sri Lanka by Euromoney for four consecutive years.

According to banking experts a vast population in the rural sector is still unbanked and as a result economic development in the regions is lagging. Access to finance in the rural sector is still a major issue that should be addressed to boost regional development. Many SME sector entrepreneurs have no proper access to finance and as a result entrepreneurial growth is stagnant.

Virtual Account enables customers to optimise working capital, enhance efficiency and improve internal control while managing their receivables with improved visibility and information management.

Cash is king in today’s context. Virtual is a powerful business tool enabling corporate customers to see and get cash as soon as possible”, Nicolaou said.

“Virtual Account gives corporates a comprehensive view of their daily cash position, enabling them to use cash more efficiently and make decisions based on real time information to create more business opportunities”, an official of the bank said.

He said visibility and mobility are key factors to improve working capital optimisation, enhance efficiency and operational risk control. Benefits of the new account include, identifying and attaching payer’s information to collectors, improving management reporting by capturing virtual account transactions on statements in real time, better credit control through swift reconciliation of collection information and enhanced visibility through receivables advising function.

LF