ComBank fetes UAE business partners

Strong growth in transaction volumes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), particularly in remittances, was acknowledged by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon recently when it felicitated its business partners, ex-staff and customers in the Emirate.

Over 150 guests who were present at the event at the event in Dubai who were entertained with traditional Sri Lankan dances by the Channa-Upuli dance troupe.

Commercial Bank's Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer S. Renganathan, the chief guest made a presentation on investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Chief Manager e-Banking and Remittances, Pradeep Banduwansa also spoke.

United Arab Emirates is a key market for remittances to Sri Lanka.

The Commercial Bank has 21 agents and four Business Promotion officers in the UAE, covering the four Emirates, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman.

The Bank is one of the most active players in Sri Lanka in the field of remittances, offering customers a range of options including the Bank's own e-Exchange platform, a highly secure, low cost money transfer facility which is available to remitters via a network of agents in over 50 countries.

Remitters can send money even without having an account in the Bank.

Besides its own e-Exchange remittance platform, Commercial Bank offers customers around the world the facility of transferring funds via MoneyGram, Xpress Money and Ria Financial Services. One of the Bank's key strengths is its islandwide network of 239 branches, many of which remain open on public, bank and mercantile holidays, and its network of 605 ATMs.

Recipients of remittances sent to the Bank enjoy many benefits such as over 50 holiday banking centres and super market counters, a dedicated customer support call centre for remittances and an SMS alert facility when the remittance is received and is ready to be paid.

The Bank recently partnered with MoneyGram to facilitate an account deposit service through which Sri Lankans working overseas can transfer funds to over 98 percent of bank accounts in the country within an hour. The funds can be received in Sri Lankan rupees directly from 40 countries.

Ranked Sri Lanka's 'Bank of the Year' by 'The Banker' and 'Strongest Bank in Sri Lanka in 2014' by The 'Asian Banker' magazines, Commercial Bank is the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for four consecutive years.

The Bank was also rated the most valuable private sector brand in the country last year. Commercial Bank has won multiple awards as Sri Lanka's best bank over several years, been adjudged as one of the country's 10 best corporate citizens by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in 2013 and 2014 and has been rated the Most Respected Bank in Sri Lanka by LMD over the past 10 years.