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| Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
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Sampath Bank mulls venturing overseas in next two years Sampath Bank is strongly looking at venturing overseas within the next two years. "We are looking at venturing to South India and Bangladesh initially," said AGM Marketing and Business Development, Sampath Bank, Kapila Karunaratne. The technology savvy 18-year-old bank was the first to introduce a Sri Lankan payment gateway. This gateway permits to purchase and sell products and services on the web in Sri Lankan rupees. This was a blessing in disguise during the tsunami when people wanted to transfer funds to the country. Within the first week after the tsunami we were able to collect Rs. 50 million as funds from overseas as remittances were easy. The bank linked the gateway to the relevant ministries too. When the bank started operations it had a quantum leap since it had invested heavily on technology. The promoters invested heavily on technology as they foresaw the benefits which could be reaped by the customers. Now the banking solutions offered by Sampath Bank are on par with the rest of the world. We were the first to introduce the 24-hour concept of banking with the launch of ATMs. Fund transfers and utility payments can be done through land phones, mobile phones and via the internet. According to an in-house survey 10,000 customers conduct their transactions via the net. This was a landmark, he said. The bank even provides access to open an account via the net. Remittances, the second largest foreign exchange earner to the country can be done through the bank as we have tied up with five of the best worldwide money transfer groups. As the money is transferred through the net within a matter of minutes the recipient will be able to receive the money without any hassle. The fixed deposit scheme launched by Sampath Bank permits the depositor to withdraw the interest annually which is a boon to the customer. He said that the bank has schemes starting from a toddler to a senior citizen catering to the needs of different age groups. The tailor-made loan package for professionals is very popular as it caters to individual needs and wants which are different from each other. The loans range from Rs. 50,000 - Rs. 780,000. Any customer of Sampath Bank can get a housing loan in 10 days under the Sampath Sevana scheme if the documents are in order. Maruti and Mitsubishi Companies together with the bank have introduced attractive packages for customers who want to purchase vehicles under the leasing scheme introduced by the bank. The bank has also moved into the business of leasing and factoring while we are also a primary dealer, he said. The bank has 75 branches and 100 ATMs while the partnership with BoC has permitted sharing of ATM networks. Karunaratne said that customers are their priority and all schemes will and can be adjusted to suit their needs while we will continuously improve on technology. SG |
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