HNB SOLO enables LANKAQR transactions for Aquafresh customers

From left: HNB Junior Executive – mPOS and M-commerce Solutions Ishan Karannagoda, HNB Assistant Relationship Manager Dumini Abeyratne Boyagoda, HNB Senior Manager – Business Development Piyakara Jayaratne, HNB Lead – Product Management – SOLO Harold Elanco, HNB Head of Marketing Chammika Weerasinghe, Access Natural Water Director/COO Shanil Perera, Access Natural Water Finance and Admin General Manager A.D. Chinthaka, Access Natural Water Assistant Accountant Vijaiy Muthiyah and Access Natural Water Senior Accounts Executive H.A.S. Shirasha  

Sri Lanka’s leading private sector bank HNB PLC’s pioneering digital payments app HNB SOLO recently signed up Access Natural Water Ltd. with the brand name Aquafresh as an official vendor, enabling customers to make their payments digitally in a seamless transition supported by LANKAQR.  

Under this tie-up, Aquafresh customers will be able to conveniently make all of their payments by scanning the QR codes now available on the monthly invoice, with the HNB SOLO app.  

Commenting on the partnership, HNB Head of Marketing Chammika Weerasinghe said: “We are truly committed to driving this digital payments transition to encourage the whole of Sri Lanka to adopt QR codes as the new payment solution. This partnership with Aquafresh, the trend setter in the bottled water industry, is a monumental milestone in this revolutionary initiative which has offered HNB SOLO the opportunity to pioneer the new normal of financial transactions with an ever-expanding vendor base.”  

The partnership is in line with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) ‘Rata Purama LANKAQR’ initiative promoting LANKAQR as the standard for mobile phone and digital payments across the island, moving towards a cashless and digitally-savvy society with greater financial inclusion.  

“We are excited to be a HNB SOLO vendor, working with the bank to facilitate a seamless contactless and cashless payment option across our extensive customer base. We believe that revolutionising consumer and transactional experiences is an important step towards innovation and modernisation in Sri Lanka. As such we are happy to be a part of this journey of transformation with HNB who has onboarded over 4,000 vendors to its extensive portfolio,” remarked Access Natural Water Ltd. Director/COO Shanil Perera said. 

As LANKAQR is a common Quick Response (QR) code standard developed by the CBSL, vendors will no longer need multiple QR codes for different platforms. Users can make payments via LANKAQR by scanning the code using SOLO. Upon completion, vendors will receive an instant SMS notification, confirming the receipt of payment.  

Having already linked LANKAQR to SOLO, HNB was among leading financial institutions and telecommunication partners driving a cashless QR-code based payments revolution that aims to make mobile phone payment apps and digital payments the standard for day-to-day transactions island-wide. 

The bank has continuously bolstered the features and functionality of its digital payment app HNB SOLO while refining its user interface to make QR-based payments intuitive, easy to use and versatile. SOLO also offers attractive promotions and rewards to its growing user base. Additionally, the app can digitally store all payment instruments, including VISA, MASTER debit and credit cards, and any bank account connected to the JustPay payment ecosystem. 

LANKAQR enables banks, financial institutions and telcos to facilitate fast, secure and low-cost digital payments to any merchant or service provider through their digital payment apps and platforms. LANKAQR provides customers with a payment mechanism for all their needs ranging from groceries, healthcare to utilities, and even the purchase of goods from street-side vendors, directly from their bank account through the use of any LANKAQR-compliant mobile payment app.  

Established in 2001, Aquafresh is the leader in Sri Lanka’s bottled water industry, and is the flagship brand under Access Natural Water Ltd., an associate company of the Access Group. The brand has proven its leading position by always delivering pure and safe drinking water, and has also been able to capture the international market with its high-quality products. With 252 customer centres across the country, HNB is one of Sri Lanka’s largest, most technologically innovative banks having won local and global recognition for its efforts to drive forward a new paradigm in digital banking. Over the recent past, the bank was ranked among the World Top 1,000 Banks list compiled by the prestigious UK-based Banker Magazine. HNB has a national rating of AA- (lka) by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd.  

HNB was also declared Best Sub-Custodian Bank in Sri Lanka at the Global Finance Awards 2020. The bank further won the Award for the Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka for the 11th time at the Asian Banker Awards 2020, in recognition of its sustainable growth and continuous improvements in processes, products and services amidst a challenging macroeconomic environment.