BOC’s SmartPay wins two awards at SLT Zero One Awards for digital excellence

Bank of Ceylon’s Electronic Banking Assistant General Manager Aruna Kumara receiving the awards on behalf of the bank. Marketing Assistant General Manager Saman Wickramasinghe, IT Assistant General Manager M.D.A. Karunaratne, Card Centre Chief Manager Eranga Bandara and other officials represented the bank at the awards ceremony 

Bank of Ceylon’s mobile payment application ‘SmartPay’ won two awards at Sri Lanka Telecom’s Zero One Awards ceremony held recently at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo. 

SLT Zero One is a national initiative organised by Sri Lanka Telecom to foster digital excellence and innovation through information communication technology. The SmartPay mobile app emerged as the winner for ‘Best Digitally-enabled Product/Service’ in the financial sector and also won the first runner-up award for ‘Best Use of Mobile’. 

These awards recognise Bank of Ceylon’s dedication towards promoting and leveraging digital technologies for business excellence in the financial sector. The bank’s Electronic Banking Centre Assistant General Manager Aruna Kumara received awards on behalf of the bank, with Marketing Assistant General Manager Saman Wickramasinghe, IT Assistant General Manager M.D.K. Karunaratne and a few other bank officials also present at the ceremony representing the bank.  

This year the competition was intense, with the number of entrants representing a broader spectrum of sectors. Awards were given to institutions as well as individuals who have made unique contributions to Sri Lanka’s digital sphere. The screening and evaluation processes were carried out by an experienced panel of 20 judges with international exposure to digital technology.     

BOC SmartPay has introduced processing transactions using LANKAQR code, the national QR code introduced by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka which facilitates real-time transactions and settlement in the country. 

BOC’s Current and Savings Accountholders (CASA) now have the privilege of making payments using their smartphone at LANKAQR certified merchants. SmartPay app can be downloaded and self-activated by customers by following a simple registration process. Through the same app, BOC customers who wish to enrol as merchants can activate it by visiting the nearest branch. 

SmartPay customers enjoy the convenience of cardless and cashless payments for their day-to-day necessities. It will be an ideal choice for today’s customers who seeks convenience, simplicity and speed as key factors in their payment experience. Since this is a customer-initiated payment method, the errors will be minimal. 

‘SmartPay’ merchants can accept payments from both BOC and other bank customers through the bank’s respective mobile payment application supporting the LANKAQR QR code. SmartPay will facilitate merchants ranging from small- to large-scale business ventures to accept transactions and enhance their sales turnover and business growth.

“With the vision of delivering banking convenience to Sri Lankans, the Bank of Ceylon has stepped into empower its customers and the country’s economy by incorporating novel digital technologies to add flexibility to the Sri Lankan payment systems. Therefore, when the Central Bank made it a requirement to fall in line with its ‘Digital 2020’ initiative to promote digital banking in the country, Bank of Ceylon was ready for it. Considering the importance of value-driven relationship building, the bank has aligned all of its operations and processes to deliver maximum co-operation to assist customer service by incorporating digital technology,” stated Electronic Banking Assistant General Manager Aruna Kumara.

“Backed by a sophisticated IT infrastructure, the bank facilitates instant and real-time transactions during any time of the day on a secure platform. The bank was able to enhance customer confidence to conduct transactions on digital platforms. This confidence placed in its digital platform has improved the overall financial health of the economy, creating a cohesive experience across digital platforms in the industry,” he added.