Point-of-Sale (POS) termi[1]nals deployed by Commercial Bank of Ceylon at retail outlets across Sri Lanka have shown exponential growth in cashless payment volumes, thus becom[1]ing the fastest growing POS network in the country, the Bank reports.
Commercial Bank is also one of the biggest facilitators of card-based payments, with an offering of state-of-the art wired and wireless POS termi[1]nals, including Android-pow[1]ered devices with QR code capa[1]bility that cater to the steadily increasing volume of cashless transactions in Sri Lanka. Com[1]menting on this achievement by the Bank’s POS network, Thusitha Suraweera, Head of Card Centre, Commercial Bank, said: “Our technology motivates merchants and customers alike to opt for cashless transactions. Greater convenience and secu[1]rity drive incremental sales for the merchants.
According to statistics pub[1]lished by the Central Bank, there are approximately 23 million debit cards in Sri Lanka, which are primarily used at ATMs to withdraw cash. A much small[1]er number is used at POS ma[1]chines. We hope to change this dynamic, by widening access to cashless transactions that are secure and convenient.”
Commercial Bank launched Sri Lanka’s first LANKAQR sup[1]ported Android operating sys[1]tem based POS device to facili[1]tate cashless payments at merchant outlets countrywide. The Bank is also working with several other companies to develop similar solutions for the market.
To further add convenience to customers, the Android POS is Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled. The inclusion of NFC technology enables con[1]tact-less transactions for cus[1]tomers with payment process[1]ing via just a tap on the terminal. Positioned as the most-advanced Android POS device in the country, the An[1]droid Smart Terminal combines the functionality and portabil[1]ity of an Android terminal with tailored security-certified pay[1]ments software enabling it to process transactions via VISA, Mastercard, UnionPay and JCB cards through LankaPay, as well as QR Code based payments under LANKAQR. The QR Code presented at the Commercial Bank POS machines under LANKAQR facilitates mVisa and Mastercard QR access and will soon be expanded to cover UnionPay QR acceptance as well. This facility offers consumers a frictionless payment experi[1]ence and reduces the waiting time at checkout counters. For merchants who prefer a simpler method of digital pay[1]ments acceptance, the Bank also offers the Easy POS device, which is a card reader that can be paired with a smartphone via Bluetooth. Commercial Bank has also launched an Android Mini POS device, a fully func[1]tional, sleek and smart terminal with SIM and wi-fi connectiv[1]ity. All Android POS devises issued by the Bank are available with a tri-lingual user interface. This technology is positioned as a cost-effective solution for the SME industry and is ex[1]pected to further expand the cashless ecosystem.
