LankaPay's 'USD Online' channels Rs 1.8 b in transactions

Sri Lanka's national payment network, LankaPay is celebrating another milestone in its operations by completing one year of successful operations of their innovative 'USD Online' service.

LankaPay launched USD Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) in July last year, enabling all member banks to offer same day US dollar transfers within the country.

In its debut year, the service saw the channelling of approximately Rs. 1.8 billion worth of transactions.

The USD Online, one of the first of its kind to be launched in Sri Lanka, was a breakthrough in the banking and financial industry.

USD Online essentially allows the movement of funds between banks the same day without having to go through NOSTRO accounts maintained with correspondent banks in the USA.

The system that kicked off with six banks now has a pool of 10 financial entities. Chairman, LankaClear, Anil Amarasuriya said USD Online has exceeded expectations.

"USD Online performed exceptionally well in its first year, which was beyond our projections for this period.

The success of the service can be attributed to its innovative features that allowed it to be well received by the financial industry."

Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, LankaClear, Channa de Silva said, "With the first year being a tremendous success, we are keen to further expand the service to more members so that it can accommodate greater needs of our target audience."

"In addition to our primary objective of driving greater financial inclusivity, we are striving to help the country save much needed foreign exchange as well," he said.