The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has opened up a world of new opportunities for Sri Lankan businesses, by becoming the first bank in Sri Lanka to enable Alipay QR Code payments under unified Lanka QR.

Alipay e-wallet holders, currently numbering over 1 billion, can now scan the Commercial Bank LankaPay unified QR code issued to Sri Lankan merchants to make payments from anywhere in the world, as a result of this latest development.

The Bank said more than 50,000 of the Bank’s merchants will be enabled to accept the Alipay QR when the Bank completes the deployment of the new QR across its network, facilitating access to a vast new customer segment. Around 28,000 merchants who have POS devices can already accept Alipay QR payments via POS devices after enabling the service by calling the bank.

“This is a huge breakthrough for Sri Lankan businesses, and we are proud to be the Bank that unlocks the potential of the Alipay portal for them,” Commercial Bank’s Deputy General Manager – Retail Banking & Marketing Mr Hasrath Munasinghe said. “This will also enable thousands of tourists visiting Sri Lanka to scan and pay using their Alipay e-wallets, and enhances the versatility of the LankaPay platform.”

As a leading digital payment and lifestyle service platform, Alipay helps partners and more than 80 million merchants in China to effortlessly serve over 1 billion Chinese consumers. The company’s proprietary technology and 20 years of quality services support mobile-savvy Chinese consumers to instantly and safely scan to pay when making online and offline purchases in China or travelling overseas.

Commercial Bank has the distinction of launching the first QR-based payment application on LankaPay’s LankaQR platform, a Central Bank of Sri Lanka initiative to ensure all QR codes and QR based transactions in Sri Lanka are standardised and interoperable. The application, ComBank Q+, recently won the Gold award for ‘Best Mobile Application for Retail Payments via LankaQR’ at the LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2024.

The largest private sector bank in Sri Lanka, the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the country’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, Commercial Bank operates a strategically-located network of branches and 964 automated machines island-wide, and is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector. Commercial Bank has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan Banks, with 20 outlets in Bangladesh, a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, and a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake in the Maldives.

Photo caption: Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Mr Sanath Manatunge and Alipay Business Development Manager – South Asia and South East Asia Mr Mark Naglis at the launch of the Alipay QR in Sri Lanka. The Bank’s Chief Operating Officer Mr S. Prabagar, Deputy General Manager – Retail Banking & Marketing Mr Hasrath Munasinghe, Head of Card Centre Mr Nishantha De Silva and Senior Manager Card Centre Mr Seevali Wickramasinghe are also in the picture