The Bank of Ceylon concludes ‘Innovbank’ symposium successfully

The ‘Innovbank’ financial-tech symposium, the first of its kind in the industry, under the theme of ‘Innovative Banking in a Smart World’ concluded successfully, drawing attention from banking and financial industry and fin-tech community, synergising the field with innovative concepts and ideas.

M.I. Ifram Ismath was the winner of ‘Innovbank – 2020’ for his submission under the track of ‘MIS and Big Data Analytics for Decision Making in Banking as a University Undergraduate’. The second place was won by Ovin of KBSL Technologies which submitted under ‘Artificial Intelligence in Financial Industry as a Fintech Innovator’. 

Sivanandan Anjana came third with his proposal sent under ‘Innovative Financial Products and Services as a University Undergraduate’. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners are recognised with attractive cash and non-cash rewards. 

The bank compelled to postpone the final conference due to COVID-19 outbreak and subsequently hold as a webinar in a virtual platform on 12 January. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka Director – Payment and Settlement D. Kumarathunge, Bank of Ceylon Director Harsha Wijayawardene, Bank of Ceylon General Manager/CEO D.P.K. Gunasekara, Deputy General Manager – Product and Banking Development M.J.P. Salgado, Chief Information Officer Ruwan Bakmeedeniya and Assistant General Manager – Product Development and Business Process Re-engineering Project Suresh Perera were present at the TV BOC Studio to share their thoughts as a live streaming at the webinar. 

Dr. Samantha Rathnayake, the Management Consultant and faculty member of the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura and Dr. Ajantha Athukorale, the Deputy Director at the University of Colombo School of Computing, also shared their expertise and inputs as the coordinating co-chairs of Innovbank.  

This symposium created a forum on future banking for the industry growth in the disciplines of fintech solutions in banking, business process re-engineering in banking services, innovative financial products and services, impact of Artificial Intelligence in financial services and application of MIS and big data analytics for decision making in banking industry. 

The bank ensured transparency and clear assessment though out the evaluation process incorporating the insights of the independent external evaluators. The evaluation process comprised three main phases with initial screening by industry experts, shortlisting the applications and evaluating the presentations to recognise the best papers/proposals based on expediency and viability. The winners showcased their presentations at the final event before a large online audience including industry veterans and academics.

Innovative technologies are creating an unprecedented revolution in the banking sector, accelerating the adoption of market changes. Through this initiative, Bank of Ceylon expects to boost industry growth by energising the innovations, providing smarter banking experience for the customers whilst bringing in the world’s best professionals and academics into a common platform. 

On top of all, this is considered as a Corporate Social Responsibility of the bank towards the betterment of the entire industry and the society.