LankaPay announces Technnovation Awards 2017

LankaClear General Manager/CEO Channa De Silva (right) addresses the media. Others from left: LankaClear Deputy General Manager (Operations) Harsha Wanigatunga and Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Secretary Wasantha Deshapriya - Pic by Upul Abayasekara

• ​All banks and non-banking financial institutions are eligible to apply

LankaClear Ltd, the operator of LankaPay, Sri Lanka’s national payment network, in a groundbreaking initiative has organised the LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2017, Sri Lanka’s first and only payment technology innovation awards. 

Scheduled to be held on 20 June at the Balmoral, Kingsbury Hotel under the aegis of Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka who will be the Chief Guest, the event will also feature renowned speaker Sopnendu Mohanty, the Chief Fintech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as the keynote speaker.

In a quest to drive financial inclusivity in the country by enhancing the efficiency of the country’s national payment network and propel the use of electronic transactions, the awards kicked off with a press conference on Friday. 

LankaClear General Manager/CEO Channa de Silva, Chairman of the panel of judges Technnovation 2017 Wasantha Deshapriya and LankaClear Ltd. Director and Secretary General of the Sri Lanka Banks’ Association Upali De Silva addressed the gathering. 

The LankaPay Technnovation Awards will recognise member banks and non-banking financial institutions that have been steadfast to the cause of using innovative technology to promote digital transactions and excelled in this endeavour. Initiated with the objective of reducing the cost of financial transactions by promoting the use of the country’s national payment infrastructure, the LankaPay Technnovation Awards will take into account the interbank payments carried out during the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 towards the awards. 

All banks and non-banking financial institutions who are members of the LankaPay network and operating under the supervision of the Central Bank are eligible for the awards. They will compete for 21 awards in eight categories and it is expected to be a keenly contested affair. 

The award categories include the Bank of the Year for Customer Convenience; the Best Common ATM Acquirer of the Year; Best Bank for Seamless Back-end Operations; Bank of the Year for Financial Inclusivity; Most Innovative Bank of the Year; Financial Institution of the Year for Customer Convenience; Most Popular Electronic Payment Product and Best Mobile Payment Application of the Year. The Overall Winner for Excellence in Interbank Payments will also be selected to be recognised as the best among the best.

The initial marking will taking place based on the performance of individual banks and non-banking financial institutions against a set of criteria defined and communicated at the commencement of the competition period; and at the second phase of marking, the shortlisted winners are expected to present their case to the panel of judges during the evaluation session scheduled on 10 June at the JAIC Hilton. 

This is an initiative supported by the Central Bank. The other members of the independent panel of judges aside from Deshapriya are Asite D.B. Talwatte - Past President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and former Country Managing  Partner of E&Y; Rajeeva Bandaranaike – Chief Executive Officer, Colombo Stock Exchange; Samantha Ranatunga – Chairman, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Lasantha Wickremasinghe – President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and Partner BR De Silva; Manil Jayasinghe – Partner, E&Y; and Dulith Herath – Founder and Chairman of Kapruka.com.