ComBank’s ‘Flash’ becomes Sri Lanka’s first multilingual digital banking app

Friday, 3 May 2019 00:00 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

 


 

  • Sinhala and Tamil versions of app launched

 

Less than a year after it was launched, Commercial Bank’s ground-breaking digital banking account ‘Flash’ has been launched in Sinhala and Tamil, making it Sri Lanka’s first trilingual digital banking app.

Developed in partnership with Kashmi of Singapore, Flash allows users to create a bank account via their mobile devices and then carry out a number of services such as payments, budgeting, saving, investing and much more.

It offers never-before-seen personal financial management tools that encourage, empower and embolden users to better engage with their finances, make wise choices about spending and saving and enrich their own financial wellness, with an all-new real-time budgeting tool and special functions that help users engage with their money and manage their funds in an accurate and responsible way.

The bank said the launch of the app in Sinhala and Tamil follows a very high rate of adoption of the English version across Sri Lanka over the past few months. The vernacular versions of the Flash banking application aim to change the slow adoption of digital banking applications in the rural and more traditional sector. With its multilingual capability and bank grade security, the Flash mobile application caters to the unbanked and under-banked, opening up a range of financial services to those traditionally overlooked.

Elaborating on the rationale for the product, Commercial Bank’s Head of Digital Banking Pradeep Banduwansa said: “There has never been a better time to focus on financial wellness, savings, budgeting and building a portfolio of secure investments than in today’s economic climate. Flash democratises the entire banking system, offering every demographic simple, intuitive and secure access to the best banking platform available in Sri Lanka. It enhances digital access, digital literacy and digital benefits to a wider user segment in the country.”

“Although Commercial Bank caters to every demographic in Sri Lanka via its extensive banking network, most users traditionally utilise just a fraction of the services available at their branch, often not capitalising on the extensive benefits available to them,” Banduwansa added. 

“With its simple intuitive interface, comprehensive features and now multilingual capability, the Flash Digital Banking app is a game changer, enabling a new segment to start a bank account and begin discovering new services and financial products in the comfort of their homes, to subscribe to high yielding financial instruments or even start an insurance policy with a simple swipe.”

A prospective account holder can download the Flash app from the App Store or Play Store. In addition to basic Online Banking functions such as balance checks, fund transfers and bill payments, the app which is linked directly to the user’s Flash Debit Card, will track and reflect all spending in real-time, allowing the user to categorise, manage and better understand his or her daily spending.  

A Savings Management Tool allows for goal setting and automated savings, thereby promoting and facilitating the savings habit and long-term financial wellness. A Group Payments Management Tool allows for multiple payments to be sent and received simultaneously for the first time in Sri Lanka. An Investment Management Tool allows for immediate creation of fixed deposits, and permits users to instantaneously apply for insurance cover, stocks and many other wealth management instruments.

The only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the world’s top 1000 banks for eight years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 266 branches and 830 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The bank has won multiple international and local awards in 2016 and 2017 and over 40 international and local awards in 2018.

Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon and a microfinance company in Nay PyiTaw; and the Maldives, where the bank has a fully-fledged Tier I bank with a majority stake.

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