Inaugural Sri Lanka FinTech Festival 2026 to spotlight digital finance and regional growth

The FinTech Forum Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Digital Economy Ministry, will host the Sri Lanka FinTech Festival 2026 powered by Visa, the country’s first-ever FinTech festival, scheduled to take place from 2-3 November 2026, at the Shangri-La Colombo. Held under the theme ‘Building Capacity, Creating Opportunities and Scaling Sri Lanka’s Digital Future,’ the flagship event is a landmark step toward positioning Sri Lanka as an emerging FinTech and digital economy hub within Asia. 

The festival aims to gather leaders from FinTech, banking, NBFI, technology and investment sectors with policymakers, regulators, international networks and regional partners, alongside entrepreneurs, SMEs and tourism-sector stakeholders.

Sri Lanka already has significant digital financial services infrastructure in place, including national payment rails and real-time account-to-account transfers. The festival will bring these capabilities into the spotlight, providing a national platform to showcase, connect, and advance the ecosystem, attracting international collaboration and investment, and open doors for broader market access.

Over two days, the festival will combine high-level networking with in-depth industry discussion. Proceedings open on 2 November with the exclusive invitation-only CEOs Night, gathering senior stakeholders including Banking/NBFI and FinTech CEOs, FinTech Forum board and advisory council, distinguished speakers, high-level Central Bank and government officials and sponsors. 

It will be followed on 3 November with the main event, the Sri Lanka FinTech Expo conference, which will operate as a full-day ticketed program featuring exhibition floors, keynotes, and panel sessions. The festival will conclude with FinTech Night, a networking reception hosting the FinTech Awards 2026, recognising those driving Sri Lanka’s FinTech ecosystem forward. Dedicated Night-Only tickets will also be available for FinTech Night.

The festival is set to serve as a gateway connecting the local ecosystem with regional and international players in the fintech industry. For industry and business stakeholders, it provides access to thought leadership, emerging technologies, and business connections, as well as providing policymakers and regulators a platform to discuss the future direction of digital finance.

The program will center on four core conversations such as the Future of FinTech, Building Unicorns and Monetisation, Sustainable and Inclusive FinTech, Cyber Security and Fraud Prevention. Sessions will cover topics including national digital-finance policy, regulation and sandboxes, cross-border payments and remittances, digital assets and tokenisation, AI in finance, digital public infrastructure, digital ID, financial inclusion, and solutions for SMEs and tourism payments.

The festival is supported by Title sponsor Visa, Platinum Sponsor Novus Technologies, Gold Sponsor BPC, and Silver Sponsors Commercial Bank, Dialog Finance PLC, FIS, Fusion X Global FZC powered by LOLC Technologies and Mastercard with LankaPay as the Fintech Start-up Pavillion Sponsor. The Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) joins as the Official Knowledge Partner and is responsible for managing the Fintech Awards 2026. Emojot will be the Official AI Experience Partner. Emerging Media is the Official Outdoor Media Partner and The Maharaja Media Network acts as the Official Electronic Media Partner. The festival’s Official Print Media Partner is Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.

With tickets now available at https://fintechfestival.lk/tickets, the festival presents an opportunity for Sri Lanka’s FinTech community to come together, exchange ideas, and explore new possibilities for growth and collaboration. As Sri Lanka prepares to host its first-ever official FinTech Festival, the sets stage for an important milestone in the country’s journey towards becoming a more prominent player in the regional FinTech ecosystem.