HSBC Sri Lanka first foreign bank to join LankaPay CEFTS

LankaClear General Manager/CEO Channa de Silva exchanging the agreement with HSBC COO Sriyan Cooray, while HSBC Head of Corporate Banking Chamira Wijetilleke, LankaClear Deputy General Manager – IT and Operations Harsha Wanigatunga, HSBC Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management Nilantha Bastian and LankaClear Senior Manager – Help Desk Isuru Jayaweera look on

HSBC has become the first foreign bank to join the Common Electronic Fund Transfer Switch (CEFTS) launched by LankaPay, the national payment network operated by LankaClear Ltd. The system is launched under the guidance of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to offer customers of its member banks the convenience and flexibility to make inward and outward fund transfers at a nominal fee in real time, 24/7, 365 days of the year.

CEFTS is a cost effective, convenient, integrated electronic payment gateway, whereby HSBC customers can avail several benefits with maximum banking convenience and effective management of their finances as follows:

Personal banking and Corporate banking clients can receive funds from CEFTS member banks up to Rs. 5 million per transaction

Outward remittances from HSBC can be made via HSBC’s Personal Internet Banking (PIB) service up to a third party transaction limit of Rs. 2.5 million and can be increased up to Rs. 5 million on request.

The service will no doubt be a value addition with the existing methods; SLIPS and Real Time Gross Settlements (RTGS) currently being enjoyed by customers, with its unique faster transferability of funds.

While appreciating the customer-centric approach taken by HSBC, LankaClear General Manager/CEO Channa de Silva stated, “We are extremely elated to welcome HSBC, established more than 120 years ago in Sri Lanka, into our revolutionary real-time payment system CEFTS. It is an extremely convenient, yet cost effective, integrated electronic payment system of the national payment network, LankaPay. CEFTS facilitates secure real-time payments, where the recipient will receive the funds within a fraction of a second. This is another gigantic step forward taken by HSBC in moving the population of Sri Lanka towards a cashless society.”

“With CEFTS we can offer greater flexibility to our corporate clients where they can now receive payments from counter parties 24/7. The system further strengthens HSBC’s receivables proposition while offering the added capability of receiving funds into a virtual account, enabling efficient reconciliation,” commented HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives Head of Corporate Banking Chamira Wijetilleke.    

Capitalising on its digital banking capabilities, HSBC’s award winning internet banking platform is built on world-class technology with the assurance of high security. It is also equipped to perform a number of banking services. Furthermore, with state of the art security features and fraud prevention systems, customers can be rest assured that their money is secure and safe.

Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management Nilantha Bastian said, “We are pleased to join LankaPay – CEFTS and enable customers to facilitate secure real time payments from anywhere at any time they wish, through their personal banking account, using HSBC’s Personal Internet Banking service. As a leading foreign bank in the country, we have remained committed to developing world-class solutions through our personal internet banking service. This is evident by the awards we have won for Best Internet Bank by Global Finance since 2006 to 2015. We hope customers will continue to enjoy a speedier and seamless payment process through CEFTS.” HSBC has been at the forefront of innovation and led the banking industry into the digital age with many firsts, such as ATM’s, Easy Pay machines, 24/7 Day and Night banking centres and internet banking to make banking more accessible. HSBC has also been recognised as the best cash management bank in Sri Lanka by Euromoney for five consecutive years, including last year.