The latest LANKAQR event of the nationwide rollout campaign of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka organised by Commercial Bank took place at the Gampaha Municipal Council grounds on 22nd January with a large participation of dignitaries, members of partner banks, merchants and other invitees.

This is the first LANKAQR event for 2022 and is intended to popularise LANKAQR payments among small and medium merchants as a low-cost digital payment method and as a secure and convenient payment solution that can be operated via mobile devices.

Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Development Coordination and Monitoring and State Minister of Digital Technology and Entrepreneur Development, graced the event as Chief Guest.

The Guest of Honour at the Gampaha event was Hon. Prasanna Ranatunga, Minister of Tourism.

Mr Eranga Senanayake, the Mayor of Gampaha and Mr Dharmasri Kumaratunga, Assistant Governor of the Central Bank also graced this event.

Commercial Bank offered customers who shopped at the event and at retailers in the locality and paid for their purchases via the Q+ Payment App, a 35% cashback, subject to a maximum daily limit of Rs 750. This offer will continue until 31st January, the Bank said.

Commercial Bank has also deployed a sales team to visit retailers in the Gampaha area to encourage registrations and to onboard merchants to the LANKAQR platform via the Q+ Merchant App.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has already conducted a series of activities in Gampaha in support of the Central Bank’s initiative to promote cashless digital payments via the LANKAQR platform, including fully digitising the Gampaha Municipal Council’s payment platforms and presenting cashback offers to customers.

The event also included the symbolic activation of digital payments of the Gampaha Municipal Council. Residents served by the Council can now pay Rates (Varipanam) and for other services online via e-invoices through the ComBank Internet Payment Gateway (IPG) or settle their dues using their credit or debit cards or by using the LANKAQR platform when they visit the offices of the Council. Further, users of Q+ Payment App can enjoy the convenience and safety of settling their bills with a click of a button through their digital wallet.

Digitisation of payments is particularly timely and relevant in view of the risks associated with physically visiting offices to make payments and enhances the safety of employees of the Council by reducing the numbers of visitors coming in to pay their dues. Among the many payments that can now be made digitally are cremation booking fees, library fees, hall and grounds booking fees and business registration fees.

The Q+ Payment App is the fastest-growing QR app in the country and was the first QR-based payment application to be launched under LANKAQR. Currently, Q + Payment App is the only payment App in Sri Lanka compatible with VISAQR, Mastercard QR and UnionPay QR.

The Q+ Payment App is designed as a hassle-free payment alternative for cardholders and vendors. It enables cardholders to pay for purchases via their mobile phones simply by scanning the merchant’s QR code. Since its launch in 2019, the app underwent several functionality-enhancing upgrades including biometric authentication login for both the consumer and merchant applications, an ‘In-App Bill Payments’ feature that allows users connected to the Bank’s Debit, Credit or Prepaid cards to pay bills instantly, the facility to promptly settle Credit Card outstanding and top-up Pre-paid Cards, and the addition of an ‘Online Pay’ feature which enables customers to pay for online purchases by entering their mobile numbers in merchant websites and apps that have ‘Q+ Payment App’ as a payment option, and most recently, the enabling of both customer-presented-QR and merchant-presented-QR modes for UnionPay cardholders.

In October 2021, the App surpassed the 100,000 registered customers milestone, doubling its customer base in just five months.

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 11 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 938 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 19 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.

Photo caption:

Ministers and other dignitaries join Commercial Bank's senior management at the launch of the LANKAQR National rollout campaign in Gampaha.