The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has taken centre stage at a leading global technology forum in Copenhagen, becoming part of a groundbreaking industry-first that demonstrates how cutting-edge telecom architecture can transform modern banking.

At TM Forum’s ‘DTW Ignite 2026,’ a premier global platform that brings together communications service providers, technology partners and digital ecosystem leaders, Commercial Bank joined Axonect, formerly Axiata Digital Labs, to showcase the first successful deployment of the Open Digital Architecture (ODA) in the fintech sector powered by Axonect’s Fabric and API Management platforms.

This landmark deployment at Commercial Bank positions Sri Lanka’s largest private sector bank at the forefront of global banking innovation, demonstrating how banks can modernise complex legacy systems while maintaining the high levels of governance, resilience and regulatory compliance required in financial services.

The presentation at DTW Ignite, delivered by Mr Sumudu Gunawardhana, Commercial Bank’s Chief Information Officer alongside Mr Anthony Rodrigo, CEO of Axonect, illustrated how ODA, originally developed for the telecommunications industry, has been successfully adapted to power a new generation of composable, agile and scalable banking systems.

Mr Gunawardhana explained that the deployment has significantly strengthened the Bank’s core technology ecosystem. He said Axonect’s ODA-aligned platform enables Commercial Bank to operate with the agility and scalability associated with cloud environments, while retaining full control over data governance, security and regulatory compliance, critical requirements for a leading financial institution.

The implementation has already delivered measurable outcomes, including substantial gains in operational efficiency and a sharply reduced cost footprint. It has also enabled several high-impact digital capabilities, including one of the fastest global rollouts of Google Pay, real-time PayPal cross-border remittance clearing, and the operation of a highly resilient, API-driven digital ecosystem with near-perfect system availability, he said.

The architecture supports an extensive network of microservices and active APIs, allowing the Bank to deliver seamless, secure and scalable services across multiple markets, while maintaining strict compliance and security protocols.

Mr Anthony Rodrigo, CEO of Axonect said the initiative demonstrates how the principles of ODA can extend beyond telecommunications to redefine enterprise transformation more broadly. He noted that as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, APIs and data governance increasingly converge, ODA has the potential to serve as a common blueprint for building secure, intelligent and future-ready organisations.

Commenting at the forum, Mr Willie Stegmann, TM Forum’s Executive Vice President – Composable IT & Ecosystems noted that the initiative underscores the growing relevance of open digital architectures beyond telecom. He said the collaboration between Axonect and Commercial Bank highlights how a common, open framework can unlock new opportunities for innovation, enable scalable AI adoption, simplify system integration, and support emerging digital business models across industries.

For Commercial Bank, this milestone marks the beginning of the next phase of its digital evolution. The Bank is now advancing towards what it describes as ‘agentic banking’ – an AI-driven, highly autonomous operating model supported by advanced software delivery systems, governed artificial intelligence, and robust data sovereignty frameworks.

This evolution is expected to further expand the Bank’s ability to participate in open finance ecosystems, deploy AI across a wider range of banking functions, and scale its digital capabilities across new markets and sectors.

Commercial Bank was the first Sri Lankan bank to achieve a market capitalisation exceeding US$ 1 billion. The Bank emerged as the No. 1 ranked Sri Lankan bank in the 2026 edition of the prestigious Top 1000 World Banks ranking published by The Banker magazine, UK. The Bank has the highest capital base among all Sri Lankan banks, and is the largest private sector lender in Sri Lanka. Ranked No. 1 in the Business Today Top 40, Commercial Bank is recognised as the most respected and most-awarded bank in Sri Lanka, is a leader in digital innovation and is the country’s first 100% carbon-neutral bank.

Commercial Bank operates more than 270 strategically-located branches and an extensive network of automated machines island-wide, and has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan banks, with 21 branches in Bangladesh, a majority stake in a fully-fledged Tier I Bank in the Maldives, a microfinance company in Myanmar, and a representative office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The Bank’s fully-owned subsidiaries, CBC Finance PLC and Commercial Insurance Brokers (Pvt) Limited, also deliver a range of financial services via their own branch networks.

Photo caption: 

Mr Sumudu Gunawardhana, Chief Information Officer at Commercial Bank makes his presentation at DTW Ignite 2026.