Business
LAUGFS Supermarkets partner Visa to offer discounts on cashless payments during the Avurudu season
Striving to encourage safe and secure payment methods to retail customers, LAUGFS Supermarkets has tied up with Visa to offer 10% discount on the total bill value for Visa contactless transactions on weekends during the Avurudu season. Accordingly, customers can shop up to LKR 5000 to enjoy this offer on Saturday and Sunday during the month of April at any LAUGFS Supermarket outlet. The offer is applicable for both Visa Credit and Debit cards on contactless transactions.
“Contactless payments provide speed, convenience and above all safety during the COVID – 19 era to customers. In August 2020, we carried out a similar initiative with Visa to encourage customers to shift to digital payment methods in a bid to facilitate a safer and hassle-free alternative to cash payments. Following its success, we wish to offer the same incentives to customers during the upcoming festive season,” commented, LAUGFS Supermarkets Senior Marketing Manager, Peshala Wijewardena.
Designed to replace the use of cash in busy retail environments, contactless payments proved to be particularly appealing during the COVID – 19 pandemic, which called for extra precautions and minimal contact to keep the spread of the virus at bay. Contactless payment method helps retail companies such as LAUGFS Supermarkets to improve hygiene protocols and standards.
“World over and in Sri Lanka we have witnessed significant consumer shift towards digital payments, particularly in non-discretionary categories such as groceries. This is even more pronounced in contactless payments with many Sri Lankans now keen to take advantage of the new limits for contactless payments up to LKR 7500. The convenience and security of contactless payments clubbed with the exciting discount on offer for LAUGFS supermarket consumers will prompt more Sri Lankans to use their contactless cards and embrace digital payments this festive season,” commented Anthony Watson, Country Manager, Sri Lanka & Maldives, Visa.
A pioneer brand in the supermarket concept in Sri Lanka, LAUGFS Supermarkets introduced the chain of 24-hour supermarket retailing concept in Sri Lanka. The company currently manages 37 supermarket outlets in Colombo and its suburbs, including Kurunegala and Chilaw. The company’s flagship brands, LAUGFS Super and LAUGFS SuperMart, cater to over 1,000,000 shoppers monthly. The supermarket chain also features its very own Crimson Bakeries and Medz Pharmacies, while catering to a broad spectrum of everyday customer needs such as utility bill payment facilities, providing continued convenience to its customers.
Ceylinco Life’s Ambalantota branch agent AIP Manjula has been named one of three global finalists for the prestigious Insurance Agent of the Year award at the 11th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards (ATLAA) 2026.
The recognition places a Sri Lankan insurance professional among the finalists in a regional field spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Ceylinco Life said the achievement reflected the calibre and customer-focused approach of its agency force, while recognising Manjula’s professionalism and commitment to policyholders.
The award evaluates insurance agents on criteria extending beyond sales performance, including ethical conduct, client service, policy persistency, digital adoption, innovative practices and contributions to the insurance industry and community.
The awards are organised by Asia Advisers Network and Asia Insurance Review, with LIMRA as co-organiser. An independent judging and balloting process is monitored by KPMG as the official scrutineer. The judging panel comprises senior insurance executives, association presidents and industry experts from across the Asia-Pacific region.
CEAT Kelani Holdings (CKH) has retained its National Long-Term Rating of ‘AA+(lka)’ with a Stable Outlook from Fitch Ratings for the sixth consecutive year, reflecting the company’s financial resilience and leading position in Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre market.
The ‘AA+(lka)’ rating, the second-highest on Fitch’s national scale, indicates a very strong capacity to meet financial commitments.
Fitch said CKH’s established market leadership and resilient financial profile remained key strengths, while noting its exposure to price-sensitive, cyclical and highly competitive markets.
The Stable Outlook reflects expectations that the company will maintain its market position despite rising input costs and increasing competition from imported tyres, while preserving adequate credit metrics during periods of weaker earnings and higher investment.
Fitch expects CKH’s established brand, extensive dealer network and adaptive pricing strategies to support its market position. Planned production facility upgrades are also expected to improve product quality, particularly in the radial tyre segment.
The rating agency expects near-term pressure on margins from higher raw material and energy costs but said the company’s low leverage and sound liquidity would provide a cushion.
CKH Chairman Chanaka De Silva said the rating reinforced the company’s focus on disciplined financial management, operational adaptability and long-term investment.
SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise, the enterprise services arm of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, has launched its Premium Cloud service powered by Nutanix, aimed at helping Sri Lankan businesses modernise their IT infrastructure and accelerate digital transformation.
The service was unveiled at the Lanka Tech Summit 2026 held recently at ITC Ratnadipa, Colombo.
The Premium Cloud combines hybrid multi-cloud capabilities with enterprise-grade performance, enabling businesses to run mission-critical workloads, scale cloud deployments and strengthen business continuity through disaster recovery capabilities.
Hosted on SLT-MOBITEL’s Tier III data centre infrastructure, the platform is designed to provide enhanced security, reliability and flexibility while supporting the growing technology requirements of enterprises.
SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise said the platform would also support organisations seeking to adopt AI-ready capabilities and improve the management and performance of IT workloads.
A key feature of the launch was SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise joining the Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program (NESPP), which the company said made it the first service provider in the region to join the programme.
Powered by Nutanix’s hybrid multicloud platform, the service enables application and data mobility across on-premises environments, public clouds and edge locations.
The company said the partnership combined Nutanix’s cloud technology with SLT-MOBITEL’s local expertise and support, strengthening its multi-cloud portfolio.
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