HNB SOLO links up with Lanka QR from Central Bank to drive new paradigm in cashless transactions

From left: HNB Deputy General Manager – Retail and SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne, HNB Director Madu Ratnayake, HNB Managing Director/CEO Jonathan Alles and HNB Head of Digital Services Shankar Dharmaratne with State Minister of Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman (centre), at the launch of digital payment solution National Lanka QR Initiative held at Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s most innovative bank, HNB PLC, announced that it had successfully linked its increasingly popular digital payment app, SOLO, with the newly launched Lanka QR standard.

Working in unison with the entire Sri Lankan banking and financial industry, the launch of Lanka QR is set to accelerate the adoption of QR code payments across the entire country and lay the foundation for the rapid expansion of digital wallets and cashless payments in Sri Lanka. 

“For several years now, HNB has been among those leading the charge on cashless payments in Sri Lanka, leveraging on the rising popularity of our digital wallet, HNB SOLO. With the launch of a common standard for all digital wallets, the Central Bank has cleared the way for merchants of all sizes to revolutionise payments across the nation. 

“This is a remarkable achievement that will create unprecedented opportunity and convenience for SOLO users. We commend CBSL officials for enabling such a paradigm shifting evolution in the payments space, and stand fully geared to support this major paradigm shift in cashless payments in Sri Lanka,” HNB Deputy General Manager – Retail and SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne stated.

Lanka QR is a common Quick Response (QR) code standard adopted by financial institutions in Sri Lanka to facilitate fast, secure and low-cost digital payments to any merchant, especially small and medium enterprises. 

It enables customers to pay merchants directly from their bank accounts using a Lanka QR compliant mobile payment app. The payment is instantly credited to the merchant’s bank account. The Lanka QR printed sticker is provided free of charge to merchants to display at their place of business by the member institutions of Lanka QR. 

To pay using Lanka QR, a customer has to scan the Lanka QR using mobile payment apps like HNB SOLO. Upon completion, merchants will receive an instant SMS notification, confirming the receipt of payment.

Coming at a time when the need for social distancing has become paramount in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the linking up of HNB SOLO to the common Lanka QR standard is expected to drive rapid adoption of QR-based payments broadly among merchants, and simultaneously expand the user base of HNB SOLO over the coming weeks and months. 

Since its launch in 2019, SOLO has experienced rapid adoption, and the bank has continuously bolstered features, functionality while refining its user interface in order to make QR-based payments intuitive, easy-to-use and versatile. HNB has also provided extensive rewards to its growing user base through cashback offers. Users can also pay utility bills and mobile recharges in addition to a host of other exciting features. 

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. The bank has continuously won prestigious accolades including being declared Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka for 2020 by the Asian Banker Magazine for the eleventh occasion in addition to being the highest ranked privately-owned commercial bank in Sri Lanka by the prestigious Banker Magazine Top 1000 global rankings 2020. Locally, HNB claimed seven awards at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2019. The first Sri Lankan bank to obtain an international credit rating, HNB is rated on par with the sovereign by Moody’s Investors Service, and the national long-term rating of the bank was revised upward by two notches to AA+ (lka) recently by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd.

From left: HNB Head of Digital Services Shankar Dharmaratne, HNB Director Madu Ratnayake, HNB Managing Director/CEO Jonathan Alles and HNB Deputy General Manager – Retail and SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne at the launch of digital payment solution National Lanka QR Initiative held at Central Bank of Sri Lanka