Darshin Pathinayake, Assistant General Manager – Card Center, Sampath Bank (third from left) exchanging the MoU with Crispin Wijesekera, Country Manager – Sri Lanka & Maldives, UnionPay International in the presence of (L–R): Chirath Samarasekara, Manager – Card Promotions, Loyalty & Product Strategy, Card Centre, Sampath Bank; Buddhika Amunugama, Manager – Card Portfolio, Sales & Merchant Relationships, Card Centre, Sampath Bank; and Benzy Fernando, Head of Products and Business Development – Sri Lanka & Maldives, UnionPay International.
Sampath Bank announced that the Sampath Bank Payment Gateway now accepts UnionPay credit and debit cards. This new development in the eCommerce industry of Sri Lanka will further empower merchant websites and consumers alike, with a broader range of customer experiences.
UnionPay International (UPI) focuses on the growth and support of UnionPay’s global business. In partnership with more than 2,400 institutions worldwide, UPI has enabled card acceptance in 180 countries and regions with issuance in 70 countries and regions. UPI provides high-quality, costeffective, and secure crossborder payment services to the world’s most extensive cardholder base and ensures convenient local services to a growing number of global UnionPay cardholders and merchants. Hence, the acceptance of UnionPay cards will benefit many merchants who transact online through Sampath Bank’s services.
“As a key financial intermediary, with thousands of merchants depending on our services to keep their eCommerce operations running, the acceptance of UnionPay cards through our portal will further enhance the service experience of both our merchants and their customers. As Sampath Bank boasts a high penetration in the eCommerce industry, developments such as these are in line with our mission to connect the merchant and consumer across many avenues, enabling them to transact with greater ease,” said Darshin Pathinayake, AGM – Card Center, Sampath Bank.
“UnionPay is very honored to co-operate with Sampath Bank, and we are confident that Sampath Bank will open up new doors for Sri Lankan merchants who wish to partake in eCommerce activities. This partnership will benefit us both. UPI’s presence in Sri Lanka will become even more diversified, and our large number of global cardholders will bring more business to local merchants,” said Michelle Shao, GM, UnionPay International, Hong Kong branch.
The acceptance of UnionPay cards through the Sampath Payment Gateway addresses the need of the hour. The number of customers who use UnionPay cards keeps increasing due to the growing number of Chinese expatriates in Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans. They obtain the UnionPay card from local issuers. As the current market conditions in Sri Lanka are favorable for an eCommerce-based business, merchants and sellers will be elated to know that Sampath Bank has developed a competitive pricing strategy for this offering. This opens up new avenues for businesses in Sri Lanka to sell their products to online buyers in China. Chinese consumers will now be able to purchase soughtafter Sri Lankan products including spices, tea, and gems online from their home country, using their very UnionPay card. Entrepreneurs and SME’s will be able to tap into the vast market that is China.
