Business

ComBank launches LankaPay cards in Sri Lanka

Published

3 years ago

2023/03/31

Dignitaries at the landmark launch of ComBank - LankaPay - JCB credit and debit cards (from left) Koya Sakuma - Executive Vice President of JCB International, Kenneth Zilwa - Chairman LankaPay, Professor Ananda Jayawardane - Chairman Commercial Bank, Sanath Manatunge, the Bank's Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer and Channa de Silva - General Manager/Chief Executive Officer LankaPay.

Sri Lanka’s payment cards domain took a giant leap today when the Commercial Bank of Ceylon in collaboration with LankaPay launched a national credit and debit card with international acceptance.This National Card Scheme is an initiative implemented by LankaPay in partnership JCB International Co. Ltd, the Japan-based international card, with over 150 million cardholders around the world.This is the first launch of LankaPay Credit Cards in Sri Lanka and the first time five variants of LankaPay cards — three credits cards and two debit — cards were launched by a Sri Lankan Bank.

LankaPay Card is an internationally accepted card, which is cost-effective and equipped with the latest technology and highest security features. All domestic transactions via LankaPay cards are routed locally and when the cards are used overseas the transactions are routed via the JCB International network. This initiative will ensure that no foreign exchange outflow takes place for any local card transaction, which could potentially save the country a considerable amount of foreign exchange, the Bank said.

The commencement of the issuance of LankaPay cards by Commercial Bank in Sri Lanka was celebrated at an event in Colombo at which senior representatives of Commercial Bank, LankaPay and JCB, emphasised the value of the additional width of the payment options, value-added services and customer choice the new card will offer ComBank cardholders.

LankaPay cards issued in Sri Lanka by Commercial Bank will feature dual interface functionality, enabling both contact and contactless transactions at point-of-sale terminals connected to the LankaPay payment network. The cards can also be used at all automated teller machines (ATMs) linked to the LankaPay platform and over 42,000 merchant points island-wide. The card will enable Sri Lankans to enjoy JCB’s global merchant network comprising of more than 41 million acceptance locations. The Bank will issue LankaPay branded credit cards in the Platinum, Gold and Classic tiers while the debit cards will be in the Platinum and Classic tiers. The debit card will be the first dual interface card in the country where the user can perform both contactless and contact-enabled transactions at any Point of Sale (POS) device.

Speaking at the launch of the ComBank-LankaPay cards, Commercial Bank Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Sanath Manatunge said: “We are delighted to offer LankaPay credit and debit cards under National Card Scheme with both local and global acceptance and support a national initiative which is more pertinent now than ever before. Commercial Bank has been associated with JCB for several years and was one of the first banks in Sri Lanka to acquire both LankaPay Cards and JCB cards under the National Card Scheme. JCB cards have also been accepted at our ATMs for the past four years. We believe that this partnership will further strengthen our relationship with JCB while supporting the national economy at a critical time.”

Speaking at this occasion, LankaPay GM/CEO Channa de Silva said: “The launch of ComBank LankaPay cards in Sri Lanka is a giant leap in furtherance of our quest to empower every Sri Lankan with faster, convenient, secure and affordable payment solutions, thereby creating financially inclusivity. LankaPay is committed to bring best-of-breed solutions to Sri Lanka’s national payment infrastructure and has been at the forefront in revolutionizing the country’s banking and financial services sector by keeping the elements ‘innovation’ and ‘convenience’ at its core. We are delighted to have Commercial Bank aboard to issue LankaPay Credit/Debit cards, which will no doubt give a fresh impetus to this initiative of national significance.”

Representing JCB at the event, the company’s Executive Vice President Mr Koya Sakuma said: “JCB has been the leading credit card company in Japan for 50 years and a global payment brand for 30 years. We provide an unparalleled experience for our partners and their customers. Our flexible approach with our partners allows us to exceed expectations, which in turn, helps customers achieve their aspirations. We are excited to have partnered with LankaPay to issue the first ever LankaPay Credit Card under the national card scheme together with Commercial Bank. We are proud to be a partner in this monumental venture.

Commercial Bank joined the common ATM switch of LankaPay in 2014. In 2019, Commercial Bank on boarded the LankaPay Common POS Switch System and became one of the first banks in Sri Lanka to have its point-of-sale network accept LankaPay cards. Later that year, it upgraded its ATM network to accept JCB cards issued outside Sri Lanka for the withdrawal of cash to service the growing number of tourists and business professionals visiting the country, especially from Asia where JCB has a large number of card members.

A pioneer in the Japanese payment industry, JCB International has been committed to expanding its international presence since 1981. It offers a suite of high-quality products and services that meet the diverse needs of customers worldwide. LankaPay cardholders will also be entitled to enjoy the preferential treatment other JCB customers receive worldwide such as travel discounts and airport lounge services.

As the national payment network that functions under the guidance and supervision of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), LankaPay is considered one of the best Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in the region. The entity is owned by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka along with other licensed public and private commercial banks operating in the country. LankaPay has contributed immensely towards minimising the overall cost structure within the financial sector through a common infrastructure, making digital financial services accessible and affordable to everyone.

Commercial Bank cards are the market leader in Sri Lanka with a market share of over 23%. The Bank offers a variety of credit cards in the Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers and a variety of cards in the premium segment. The cards are equipped with ‘Tap ’n Go’ NFC technology and are backed by a strong NFC Point-of-Sale (POS) network. ComBank Cards offer an exciting array of promotions and offers across all categories and also offer the Max Loyalty Rewards scheme for selected card categories covering both credit and debit cards.

Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 12 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 270 branches and 950 automated machines in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 20 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.

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Business

Oil at $150 will trigger global recession, says boss of financial giant BlackRock

Published

30 mins ago

2026/03/25

Priyan

Larry Fink was speaking exclusively to BBC business editor Simon Jack (BBC)

If the price of oil hits $150 a barrel it will trigger a global recession, the boss of US financial giant BlackRock has told the BBC.

Larry Fink, who leads the world’s largest asset manager, said if Iran “remains a threat” and oil prices stay high it will have “profound implications” for the world economy.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, he also denied there was an AI bubble, although he said the new technology meant too many people were pursuing university degrees and not enough doing technical training.

BlackRock is a financial colossus, controlling assets worth $14 trillion (£10.5tn), and is one of the biggest investors in many of the world’s largest companies.

Its size and spread gives Fink – who is one of the eight co-founders of the business, which started in 1988 – a unique insight into the health of the global economy.

The conflict in the Middle East has triggered wild moves on financial markets as people try to assess what will happen to energy costs.

For Fink, it is too early to determine the ultimate scale and outcome of the conflict, but he believes it will be one of two extreme scenarios.

In one, if the conflict is settled and Iran becomes a country that can be accepted again by the international community then the price of oil could fall back to below where it stood before the war.

But if not, he says, then there could be “years of above $100, closer to $150 oil, which has profound implications in the economy” and an outcome of “a probably stark and steep recession”.

The surge in energy costs has led to some in the UK to argue that it should be focusing more on producing its own oil and gas.

On Tuesday, industry body Offshore Energies UK said that without more domestic production, the country risks becoming reliant on imports “at a time of rising global instability”.

Fink says countries need to be pragmatic about their energy mix by using all sources available to them, but providing cheap energy is key to driving growth and raising living standards.

“Rising energy prices is a very regressive tax. It affects the poor more than the wealthy.”

While the UK already has some solar and wind power and hydrocarbons, if oil prices were to rise to $150 for three or four years, “you would have so many countries moving so rapidly towards solar and maybe even wind”.

Countries should not depend on just one source, he says.

“Use what you have unquestionably, but also aggressively move towards alternative sources too.”

Some analysts have suggested that there are some echoes of the run-up to the 2007-08 financial crisis in the markets at the moment.

Energy prices are surging and some have flagged signs of cracks in the financial system. BlackRock itself is one of several firms to have limited withdrawals by nervous investors from private credit funds.

But Fink is adamant there is no chance of a repeat of the financial trauma seen in 2007-08, when several banks around the world collapsed or had to be rescued, as he believes financial institutions today are more secure.

“I don’t see any similarities at all,” he says. “Zero.”

The issues affecting some funds account for a small fraction of the overall market and investment from institutions remains strong, he says.

Fink also rejects suggestions that the surge in investment in AI, which has seen billions of dollars invested in the new technology, has been overblown.

“I do not believe we have a bubble at all,” he says.

“Could we have one or two failures in AI? Sure, that I’m fine with.”

Last year, BlackRock was part of a consortium that bought one of the world’s largest data centre providers, Aligned Data Centres, in a $40bn deal.

“I believe there’s a race for technology dominance. I believe that if we do not invest more, China wins. I believe it’s mandatory that we are aggressively building out our AI capabilities.”

The biggest issue he feels that is hindering the expansion of AI in the US and Europe is the cost of energy.

While China is investing hugely in solar and nuclear power, in Europe “I just see a lot of talk and no action”, he says, while in the US “as much as we are energy independent, we better start focusing on solar… because we need to have cheap, inexpensive power to move into AI”.

Earlier this week, in his annual letter to shareholders, Fink said the boom in artificial intelligence risked widening inequality, with only a small number of firms and investors seeing the benefits.

However, speaking to the BBC, he emphasised AI was going to create an “enormous amount of jobs”.

He said that in his letter he had written about how many jobs would be created “related to electricians and welders and plumbers”.

In contrast, there might not be as much demand for some office jobs as AI evolves and this could lead to a rethink about what roles are needed as “society is changing and evolving”.

“We really put judgement on so many jobs and so many people who probably should not have gone into banking or media or law, [who] probably should have been a great worker with their hands, and we need to now rebalance that approach,” he says.

In the US, he says, after World War Two “we built the foundation of education, and we said to all the young people, go to college, go to college, go to college. And we probably overdid it”.

“We need to balance that out, and we need to be proud that… a career can be just as strong in these fields of plumbing and electricians.”

(BBC)

Business

Mahindra ldeal Finance’s Rs 1 Bn debut debenture issue oversubscribed on day 1

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/25

Sahan Weerasooriya

Director/CEO, Mufaddal Choonia

Mahindra Ideal Finance Limited (MIFL) has announced the successful conclusion of its debut Rs 1 Billion debenture issue, which was oversubscribed on the first day of opening, marking a significant capital market milestone for one of Sri Lanka’s fastest-growing licensed Non-Banking Financial Institutions.

The Issue comprised up to Ten Million (10,000,000) Tier 2, Listed, Rated, Unsecured, Subordinated, Redeemable Debentures at a par value of LKR 100 per Debenture, raising up to Sri Lanka Rupees One Thousand Million (LKR 1,000,000,000), with a five-year tenure maturing in 2031.

Commenting on the outcome, MIFL Managing Director/CEO, Mufaddal Choonia said the proceeds of the Company’s inaugural debenture issue will be deployed to strengthen lending capacity across its core business segments, including vehicle leasing, gold loans, SME loans, and business loans.

“The success of our first debenture issue is testament of our performance so far and speaks of the confidence that investors have placed in our future growth story. The strong market response is also the best validation we can secure from the investor community on the strong fundamentals that underpin our business. We will honor that trust by deploying these funds to further provide accessible credit to enrich the lives of our customers and for the communities we serve.”

The capital raise also strengthens the Company’s Tier 2 capital base in compliance with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s Capital Adequacy Requirements.

The Debentures were offered in two structures — Type A, at a fixed rate of 12.00% per annum payable annually, and Type B, at a floating rate of the 364-Day Treasury Bill rate plus 3.50% per annum payable semi-annually.

The Issue carried a credit rating of A (lka) from Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited, with MIFL holding an entity rating of AA-(lka) with a Stable Outlook. The Issue was managed by NDB Investment Bank Limited, with Bank of Ceylon serving as Joint Placement Agent. (MIFL)

Business

SEC and CSE strengthen role of auditors of Watchlist Companies

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/25

Sahan Weerasooriya

From Left to right: Kassapa Weerasekara, Ms. Manuri Weerasinghe and Ms. Nilupa Perera

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) jointly organized an awareness session recently, for auditors of companies which are currently on the CSE Watchlist. The session focused on enhancing awareness of enforcement actions and timelines, reducing prolonged Watchlist durations, and fostering a more coordinated regulatory approach among regulators, auditors, and listed companies.

Addressing the session, the Chairman of the SEC, Senior Prof. D.B.P.H. Dissabandara highlighted the core professional virtues of an auditor drawing from his own career beginnings, “At the heart of every auditor’s role lies three virtues: integrity, objectivity and confidentiality.” He reminded the gathering, that while an auditor may formally be recognized as a supplementary service provider under the SEC Act, their true value runs far deeper. Every time a listed company submits its financial statements, it is the auditor’s opinion that gives investors the confidence to trust those numbers. In that sense, auditors are not just ticking a regulatory box, they are the ones holding the line on transparency.

Senior Prof. D.B.P.H.
Dissabandara

Further, Professor Dissabandara drew attention to the current Watchlist situation, noting that while the inclusion of certain companies on the Watchlist is an appropriate regulatory measure, their prolonged presence on the Watchlist may send adverse signals to investors. He called for a structured connected approach involving auditors and listed company management to ensure incremental progress towards resolving Watchlist triggers, particularly those arising from going concern issues and the non-submission of financial statements.

The Head of Listed Entity Compliance at the CSE, Kassapa Weerasekara delivered a presentation focused on enforcement actions that can lead to securities being transferred to the watchlist. Weerasekara reminded the gathering “If companies take the right steps and obtain independent verification on the resolution of all matters giving rise to Modified Opinion and Emphasis of Matter on Going Concern, their securities can be fully reinstated.” He closed by emphasizing that the process is designed to give companies a fair and structured opportunity to correct course.