Sri Lanka’s most technological-driven bank, HNB PLC, renewed its partnership with a leading online payment portal dedicated to educational payments, MyFees.lk to provide a feasible online financial experience for students and institutions alike.

The partnership will offer educational facilities with access to enhanced e-commerce functionalities with the ability to provide customers seamless, robust and secure payment experience via HNB’s integrated e-commerce payment management service CyberSource.

“Access to education has always been a priority for HNB. It is important that students have easy access to educational facilities, regardless of any crisis the country faces. We have supported Myfees.lk since its inception, and with the renewal of our partnership, we hope to provide an even wider range of facilities for students and educational institutions. We hope our customers will use this unique opportunity to invest in their education,” HNB DGM Retail & SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne said.

HNB also has extended payment facilities to include cash deposits through its extensive network of Cash Deposit Machines (CDM) across the island. The move sets the bank apart as the most versatile payment facilitator for the education industry, with payment options now available via cash, debit and credit cards.

Moreover, a partnership with LANKAQR will offer customers access to the payment portal across 27 mobile wallets in the near future. HNB will also provide below-market interest rates to support the educational institution during the collection process while offering students a convenient 0% interest instalment payment scheme.

“Our partnership with HNB has only cemented our relationship with students and educational institutions we work with. We are excited to offer new facilities to our customers through CyberSource and the option of directly paying fees via the CDMs across the island. We encourage everyone to use our secure payment portals to make any payment necessary,”  MyFees CEO Faiq Faaiz said.

Powered by HNB, the payment platform offers a seamless collection and reconciliation process for payments for educational institutions while students can make use of convenient payment facilities and other benefits.

Notably, MyFees has partnered with over 60+ educational Institutes and International schools and hosts over 30+ branches from the North to the South of the island. Currently, over 65,000 students use MyFee.lk as their primary channel to pay for their educational needs.

With 265 customer centres across the country, HNB is one of Sri Lanka’s largest, most technologically-innovative banks, having won local and global recognition for its efforts to drive forward a new Aparadigm in digital banking. HNB has a national rating of AA- (lka) by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd. The bank was also ranked among the World’s Top 1,000 Banks list compiled by the prestigious UK-based Banker Magazine for five consecutive years.

Caption: (From left) HNB Aggregator Solutions Executive Krishan Jayamanna, HNB Product Head Merchant Services & Digital Pay Products Gayan Gunawardane, HNB Head of Acquiring & Digital Payment Solutions Zacky Ahamed, HNB Head of Cards Gauthami Niranjan, HNB DGM Retail & SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne and MyFees CEO Faiq Faaiz, MyFees Co-founder Tariq Cassim and MyFees Manager Business development Kevin Perera were present during the renewal of the partnership

Sri Lanka’s most customer-friendly bank, HNB PLC renewed its partnership with Ansen Agriculture to offer customers affordable leasing packages inclusive of attractive benefits for Powertrac Tractors.

The partnership will enable HNB Agri customers special interest rates when purchasing Powertract Tractors. HNB AGM- PFS Kanchana Karunagama, HNB Head of Leasing Susith Perara, Ansen Managing Director Anjelo Wijesinghe, Ansen Financial Controller Tirol Perera and HNB Accountant Ashen Perera were present at the special ceremony held to renew the partnership.

“Given the present financial difficulty experienced in the market the possibility of purchasing Powertrac Tractor, an important asset for farmers, has significantly diminished this year. Therefore, to provide better services for our customers and to help them expand and improve their businesses, we renewed our partnership with Ansel Agriculture. We believe that this bond will be a stepping stone towards a better future for many farmers,” HNB AGM- Personal Financial Services, Kanchana Karunagama said.

Notably, HNB customers will receive a Prestige Prime credit card, with the first year fee waived off, offering customers access to exclusive discounts for Tractors and its automobile products, servicing, spare parts, tyres and batteries.

Moreover, attractive discounted vehicle insurance premiums will also be offered by HNB General Insurance to HNB agricultural-based customers. This will offer free life insurance coverage worth Rs 4.5Mn to cover accidental deaths and in case of the demise of the insured due to natural death, HNB Assurance will offer Rs 600,000/- worth of Natural Death Insurance cover.

“Since inception, we have worked towards providing the best quality services with exceptional packages to all our customers. With this partnership, we believe that we can offer much better opportunities to our mutual customer base with attractive benefits and convenient leasing solutions to grow their businesses,” Ansen Managing Director, Anjelo Wijesinghe said.

Under the partnership, Ansen will offer customers the option of choosing between a warranty for 2,500 hours and free-of-charge installation and training sessions.

Photo Caption: HNB AGM – PFS Kanchana Karunagama (fifth from left) exchanging the MOU with Ansen Managing Director Anjelo Wijesinghe (fourth from right) in the presence of (from left) HNB Head of Leasing Susith Perera, HNB Senior Manager - Micro Finance Pujitha Jayawaradena, HNB Asst. Manager - Leasing Roshan de Silva, HNB Asst. Manager - Business Development – Leasing Mahesh Rathnayake, Ansen Financial Controller Tirol Perera, Ansen Accountant Ashen Perera and Ansen Executive Sales Administration Praveen Buweneka

Sri Lank’s most customer-friendly bank, HNB PLC, signed on as the official leasing partner to the Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA), the representative body of Sri Lanka’s automotive industry.

The strategic tie-up between the two organizations will offer CMTA members access to a wide range of leasing facilities provided by the bank. . HNB DGM Retail & SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne and

CMTA Chairman Charaka Perera were present to commemorate the new partnership.

“To overcome the current economic situation, we have initiated several new activities to develop the automotive industry. This is one such initiative, and although we currently face challenging times, partnerships of this nature would provide comprehensive leasing solutions for members and, by extension, their customers,” HNB DGM Retail & SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne said.

“Transport is a capital good that often impacts the efficiency of a manufactured product. Greater transport efficiency will have a wider impact on enhancing the efficiency of the economy. Moreover, given the present situation in the country, amidst the import ban, collaborations like this are a vital intervention to support and solve disruptions in the industry,” CMTA Chairman Charaka Perera said.

Founded in 1919, the Ceylon Motor Traders Association is affiliated with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and is widely accepted as the voice of the Sri Lankan Automotive Industry. It is the most senior automotive trade association in the region and represents all major international automotive manufacturers through its agents.

Furthermore, the members of the CMTA collectively employ and train thousands of Sri Lankan citizens while bringing in international best practices in engineering and management, making a talent pool that is trained and employable internationally. Additionally, the CMTA members have over 7,000 direct employees and established island-wide dealer networks under them, comprising more than 5,000 small & medium scale enterprises spread across the island.

Photo caption: HNB DGM – Retail & SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne (fifth from left) exchanging the MoU with CMTA Chairman Charaka Perera (third from right) in the presence of (from left) HNB AGM – PFS Kanchana Karunagama, HNB Head of Leasing Susith Perera, HNB Assistant Manager – Leasing Roshan Perera, HNB Assistant Manager Business Development – Leasing Mahesh Rathnayake, CMTA Senior Vice Chairman Virann De Zoysa and CMTA Vice Chairman Andrew Perera

As the market leaders in two different industries this brand collaboration is a highlight as it is specially curated for loyal customers. In a bid to offer coffee lovers with more coffee, Sri Lanka’s most customer friendly bank HNB PLC, partnered with the country’s largest and the most digitized café chain, Barista to launch the SOLO Loyalty, earn and burn program.

Among the first in a series of partnerships with local vendors, the bank will offer loyal SOLO and Barista customers the opportunity to earn points with each transaction.

“SOLO by HNB is a convenient payment solution that provides contactless payments at all 17 Barista outlets in Sri Lanka, the loyalty tie–up with Barista and SOLO customers while encouraging cashless digital transactions”, HNB AGM – Digital Business, Chammika Weerasinghe said.

Customers using SOLO by HNB connected to a HNB savings or current account to complete their payments at any Barista Outlet will be eligible to earn one loyalty point for every Rs.100/- spent on coffee and other items. Each point is equivalent to Rs.1/- and can be redeemed anytime at the customer’s convenience.

Loyalty points can be earned by simply linking any HNB Saving or Current Account to the bank’s digital wallet SOLO. Moreover, if a customer wishes to view their points earned or points redeemed, it is possible to check same from the Loyalty and Rewards tab on the SOLO home page. The bank’s user-friendly digital payment app and e-wallet, HNB SOLO, is linked with LANKAQR.

CEO of Barista Coffee Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Dilupa Pathirana stated: “As the market leader and the largest café chain in Sri Lanka, our priority is to serve our customers the best cup of coffee while bringing it one step closer to the customers hence we believe this program is a good opportunity for mutually loyal customers and all SOLO by HNB users which is over 200,000 to be a part of the fast growing coffee community of the country. We are happy to have been the first F&B company to have partnered with SOLO by HNB.

With 256 customer centres, HNB is one of Sri Lanka’s largest, most technologically innovative banks. It has won local and global recognition for its efforts to drive forward a new paradigm in digital banking. HNB has a national rating of AA- (lka) by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd. The bank was also ranked among the World Top 1,000 Banks list compiled by the prestigious UK-based Banker Magazine for five consecutive years. HNB was also declared Best Sub-Custodian Bank in Sri Lanka at the Global Finance Awards 2020

Caption: HNB AGM – Digital Business Chammika Weerasinghe (second from left) with Barista Chief Executive Officer Dilupa Pathirana (third from right) at the launch of HNB SOLO Loyalty Programme, together with HNB Executive SOLO Promotions and Activations, Reeza Jaleel, Barista Assistant Brand Manager Theekshana Mapatuna and Barista Operations Manager Krishan Gunasekara

Sri Lanka's largest financial solutions provider, HNB PLC, partnered with Micro Cars Limited to offer exclusive instalment packages, including benefits and attractive interest rates for customers intending to purchase SAIC Almaz 7-seater SUV and Proton Saga Sedan car.

The partnership aims to provide premium customer service for those who wish to purchase their dream vehicle whilst enhancing the synergies between the two companies in delivering the best tailor-made instalment packages for their customers.

HNB AGM- PFS Kanchana Karunagama, HNB Head of Leasing Susith Perera, Micro Cars Chairman/CEO Dr. Lawrance Perera, Micro Cars Group Director Asela Lihinikaduwa, Micro Cars Head of Sales & Marketing Ravindu De Silva and Micro Cars Head of Customer Relations Jacob Nishanthan signed the MOU at a ceremony hosted at Micro Cars Head Office in Kelaniya.

“We have strengthened our relationship with Micro Cars and our mutual customer base over the years by offering tailor-made solutions that meet the requirements to invest in the vehicle of their dreams. As such, we are very pleased to go on this journey with them again and hope our customers will use this unique opportunity,” HNB AGM- PFS Kanchana Karunagama said.

Notably, along with attractive discounted vehicle insurance premiums by HNB General Insurance, customers are also eligible for a free life insurance cover worth Rs 4.5 million. HNB will waive the first annual fee for prestige Prime credit card holders who have access to special discounts on automobile products, servicing, spare parts, tires, batteries and services.

“Given the current demand for the Latest SAIC Almaz 7 Seater SUV and the Full Option Proton SAGA Sedan car, we are pleased to partner with HNB in providing affordable, attractive rates and reliable services to all our clients. Moving forward, we hope to extend our services with HNB to provide our customers with the best payment options and solutions to purchase their dream vehicle,” Micro Cars Group Director Asela Lihinikaduwa said.

Meanwhile, Micro Cars will offer a warranty of 3 years or 100,000 km, whichever comes first for SAIC Almaz and a guarantee of 5 years or 150,000 km, whichever comes first for Proton SAGA.

Furthermore, three labour-free services will also be offered for all who Lease via HNB Leasing.

Photo Caption: HNB AGM- PFS Kanchana Karunagama (fifth from left) exchanging the MoU with Micro Cars Group Director Asela Lihinikaduwa (sixth from left) in the presence of HNB Head of Leasing Susith Perera (fourth from left) and Micro Cars Chairman/CEO Dr. Lawrance Perera (seventh from left)

Continuing its efforts to drive less cash and contactless payments across the island, Sri Lanka’s most digitally-savvy bank HNB PLC, conducted a QR activation programme to onboard merchants in Majestic City to its digital platform SOLO in support of the ‘LANKAQR Rollout’ campaign.

HNB together with other financial institutions and telecommunication partners participated in a day-long event at the local mall to raise awareness and interact with merchants, including small businesses regarding he advantages of LANKAQR-integrated payments. The bank onboarded a number of merchants to its digital wallet HNB SOLO during the event and presented them with their unique QR codes.

“While the onset of the pandemic spurred the shift to contactless and cashless payment solutions, we have seen an increasing number of merchants and customers convert to LANKAQR for its sheer convenience. Given our accelerated digital transformation over the past few years, it is crucial we capitalize on the substantial interest shown by customers and vendors alike to drastically enhance much needed economic activity,” HNB Head of Digital Services Shankar Dharmaratne said.

CBSL Assistant Governor Dharmasri Kumaratunge presented HNB SOLO merchants with the LANKAQR code during the event. A wide portfolio of merchants’ onboarded with HNB SOLO including clothing, food and beverages and electronics vendors.

“The effort to drive for less cash society is slowly but surely transforming us into a digitally driven economy. We need to keep the momentum of the accelerated digital transformation that we experienced to ensure we establish a less cash economy. As such, I am grateful for the support provided by HNB since the inception of our nationwide LANKAQR campaign,” CBSL Assistant Governor Dharmasri Kumaratunge said.

The bank was among the first financial institutions and telecommunication partners to join the CBSL in promoting digital payments as the standard day-to-day transactions island-wide.

Launched in 2019 as HNB's flagship digital payment solution, SOLO provides the convenience of digital transactions via affordable, easy and widely- adaptable QR code, a cost-effective option compared to alternative payment solutions available in the market.

Photo Caption: CBSL Governor Dharmasri Kumaratunge presenting the LANKAQR to the HNB SOLO Merchant - Mlesna Tea with (from left) HNB Lead- Product Management- SOLO Harold Elanco, HNB Head of Digital Services Shankar Dharmaratne and HNB Executive- mPOS & M-commerce Solutions Ishan Karannagoda

Sri Lanka’s leading online payment gateway solution provider, WEBXPAY announced a landmark partnership with the nation’s leading private sector bank, HNB, to introduce affordable POS solutions to enable digital payments acceptance for Small and Medium Businesses (SMB).

As part of the ongoing Visa Acceptance Fast Track programme that WEBXPAY entered recently, the partnership will enable WEBXPAY to increase the circulation of Point of Sale (POS) terminals to SMBs. At present it is estimated that 96,000 POS terminals are in circulation.

 Through its ongoing efforts, WEBXPAY aims to increase circulation of POS devices rapidly over the next 5 years, with Soft POS terminals such as Tap to Phone, and other Android POS machines expected to play a pivotal role in expanding cashless payment acceptance to SMBs.

 “WEBXPAY is proud to partner with a true pioneer in tech-enabled banking – HNB – in order to rapidly expand access to the latest generation of contactless payments to support the growth and development of Sri Lankan SMBs. Based on global experiences we have seen that contactless payments can increase their transactions by 4x, and encourage 2x higher spend. This can help them attract and retain new business at a very crucial time for the SMB sector,” said Omar Sahib, Founder & CEO, WEBXPAY.

 In addition to low-cost POS machines, new solutions like Tap to Phone payments are expected to prove a game changer for SMBs, enabling vendors to almost instantly convert any smartphone into a payment acceptance device.

 “Sri Lanka’s SMB sector serves as a backbone of our nation’s economy, accounting for the vast majority of employment in Sri Lanka, and yet they often lack the resources, tools and expertise to engage with digital payment solutions. HNB, WEBXPAY, and Visa are all united by a deep commitment to leveraging the power of technology and partnerships to radically enhance the competitiveness of SMBs, and we look forward to working in close collaboration to rollout contactless payments and novel Solution like Tap to Phone (Soft POS), to SMBs across the island in the coming months,” said Gauthami Niranjan, Head of Cards, HNB PLC.

 Visa has long been committed to power the digitisation of small businesses in Sri Lanka. As part of the Acceptance Fast Track program, we are delighted to enable this partnership between WEBXPAY and HNB and further empower the SMB sector with digital payments. Through our Cybersource platform, we will help enable card present acceptance as well as provide merchants with the convenience of tap to phone,” said Avanthi Colombage, Country Manager, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Visa.

 WEBXPAY and Visa’s partnership with HNB represents the latest advancement in the Visa Acceptance Fast Track programme, which aims to empower small businesses to begin digital payment acceptance in a matter of seconds, thanks to new Visa solutions, onboarding processes and program participants.

Photo Caption: (From left) HNB Aggregator Solutions Executive Krishan Jayamanna, HNB Product Head - Merchant Services & Digital Pay Products Gayan Gunawardane, HNB Head of Acquiring & Digital Payment Solutions Zacky Ahamed and HNB Head of Cards Gauthami Niranjan at the launch of WEBXPAY and Visa partnership, together with WEBXPAY - Founder and CEO Omar Sahib, Head of Cybersource - India and South Asia Rahul Choube, Country Manager VISA - Sri Lanka & Maldives Avanthi Colombage, Director VISA, Products - Sri Lanka & Maldives Gimali Soysa, Director VISA, MS & A - Sri Lanka & Maldives Nalin Dissanayake, WEBXPAY - Director Business Development and Operations Krishan Samarasinghe and WEBXPAY - Project Manager Natalie Ferdinands

Sri Lanka’s leading private sector bank, HNB PLC, signed on as the exclusive banking partner to Aitken Spence Travels (Pvt), the Official Travel Agent (OTA) in Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, to offer cricket fans with exciting benefits.

Through this partnership, HNB will be offer a 0% instalment plan for up to 24 months during the promotional period for all travel packages to Australia purchased through Aitken Spence Travels (Pvt).

“We are pleased to have exclusively partnered with the official travel agent of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2022. Given the current situation, we believe that this collaboration will provide financial benefits to all those who wish to witness the match on-site and travel to Australia for other leisure and business activities,” HNB Head of Cards, Gauthami Niranjan said.

The T20 World Cup 2022 will be held in Australia from the 16th of October to the 13th of November 2022. With a total of 45 matches being played across seven host cities by 16 teams, this international tournament will bring people of all ages, backgrounds, and countries together in a celebration of cricket, culture, and entertainment.

“We are delighted to be working with HNB to offer all cricket fans in Sri Lanka the opportunity to enjoy the exciting T20 cricket matches that are to be held across Australia. We hope that many will make use of this opportunity to support the Sri Lankan team. A sporting event of this magnitude definitely attracts the sports enthusiast and we hope they find time to visit family and friends as well during the visit,” stated Mr. Nalin Jayasundera - Managing Director of Aitken Spence Travels

Moreover, as the official travel agent, Aitken Spence Travels (Pvt) has direct access to the booking system. Therefore, it is taking an active role in assisting fans to book their tickets to any and all cricket matches across the globe.

Aitken Spence Travels is a leading IATA approved travel agency in Sri Lanka, for more than 45 years, the company has been in operation. When Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup, the company operated a special charter to Lahore, Pakistan. Further, the company operated a charter flight to Bangladesh when Sri Lanka won the T20 World Cup in 2014. We can proudly state that we have been closely collaborating with the ICC and have been holding the OTA status continuously since 2015 when Australia was the host nation

With 254 customer centres across the country, HNB is one of Sri Lanka’s largest, most technologically-innovative banks, having won local and global recognition for its efforts to drive forward a new paradigm in digital banking. HNB has a national rating of AA- (lka) by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd. The bank was also ranked among the World Top 1,000 Banks list compiled by the prestigious UK-based Banker Magazine for six consecutive years, and was also ranked as Sri Lanka’s Best Retail Bank for the 12th year at the prestigious International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2022 hosted by the Asian Banker Magazine.

Working towards combating malnutrition among children, Sri Lanka’s most customer-centric bank HNB PLC, launched a much- needed nutrition drive as an extension of its flagship ‘Oba Venuwen Api’ initiative.

The timely intervention aims to support expectant mothers from disadvantaged communities, given the challenges faced in procuring essentials due to the ongoing economic crisis. The Bank invited 1,000 expectant mother to 56 selected customer centers across the island to ceremonially launch the initiative.

“The Oba Venuwen Api Fund was established to help Sri Lankans facing many difficulties brought on by the pandemic. Over the year, the fund and its goals have evolved to work with different segments of the public and offer support where possible. As such, we believe it is crucial to work with pregnant mothers at this time, especially given that Sri Lanka recorded the second highest acute malnutrition among children under the age of 5 in South Asia. We hope this initiative will provide our future generation with the nutrition they need,” HNB DGM CHRO/CTO L. Chiranthi Cooray said.

The bank worked with MOH offices, Divisional Secretariats and midwives to choose 1,000 expectant mothers who will be beneficiaries of the nutrition pack for three consecutive months from September. The officials were also consulted to put-together the nutrition packages distributed among the chosen beneficiaries.

Moreover, organized seminars with health professionals for the participants on pregnancy as well as the needs and wants of a new born. The Bank also encouraged expectant mothers to open an HNB Singithi Kirikatiyo Savings Account with a deposit of Rs. 1,000, provided by the bank, for their child.

Most recently, HNB supported the Lady Ridgeway and Colombo South Teaching Hospitals with medication necessary for new born babies and pregnant mothers through the ‘HNB Oba Venuwen Api’ initiative.

Driven by HNB’s Sustainability Foundation, the ‘Oba Venuwen Api’ initiative is funded by HNB employees contributing a day’s pay at the onset of the pandemic last year. The Bank matched the staff donation to establish the fund, which has since been allocated for various projects to uplift people during these challenging times.

With 256 customer centres, HNB is one of Sri Lanka’s largest, most technologically innovative banks. It has won local and global recognition for its efforts to drive forward a new paradigm in digital banking. HNB has a national rating of AA- (lka) by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd. The Bank was also ranked among the World Top 1,000 Banks list compiled by the prestigious UK-based Banker Magazine for five consecutive years. HNB was also declared Best Sub-Custodian Bank in Sri Lanka at the Global Finance Awards 2020.

Photo Captions :

Image 01: HNB DGM CHRO/CTO L. Chiranthi Cooray handing over a nutrition pack to a pregnant mother in Nittambuwa

Image 02: HNB Head of Personal Financial Services Kanchana Karunagam handing over a nutrition pack to a pregnant mother in Bandaragama

Image 03: Nutrition packs distributed to pregnant mothers in Monaragala

Image 04: Nutrition packs distributed to pregnant mothers in Nuwera Eliya

By Jonathan Alles, Managing Director /CEO - HNB

In recent weeks, you may have noticed a brighter and more vibrant look and feel taking hold across HNB’s branch network, and with it, a new kind of energy from our team.

Viewed in isolation these may seem like surface-level change, however, relative to HNB’s decade-long transformational journey, this new look and increased level of focus from our team in fact represents the culmination of an ambitious journey to realign an organization and its rich legacy of 134 years to a simple and singular idea: we wanted to make HNB a joy to bank with.

The roll out of our redesigned brand image is therefore our team’s way of saying that we are now ready to deliver a single, seamless experience to our customers. One that delivers on that promise across every one of our customer touchpoints – be they brick-and-mortar branches, or out in the digital space.

To meet such a powerful commitment required a bottom -to-top reimagining of what a bank is, how it operates, and the role it should serve in the lives of our customers.

Evolving with the times

We understood that we had to stay true to our original goal of serving as a partner in progress to every Sri Lankan. However, given the changes that have taken place in our society, and the challenges we face moving forward, we had to account for the fact that the very definition of what progress means for the average Sri Lankan has completely changed from when our bank was first established in the hills of Hatton in 1888.

Since then, our nation, its people, and the banking industry have all evolved. Technological advancements have taken the act of banking from being an infrequent, but deeply personal interaction between customers and bank staff, to a series of near daily interactions that are short, and increasingly mediated by devices and screens.

Our challenge was two-fold. We had to continuously enhance our service capabilities in order to meet the rapidly evolving demands of modern consumers, who increasingly expect banking services to be reliably and instantly accessible at their fingertips.

But we also had to ensure that in our aggressive pivot into digital banking, that we did not lose the character, and the vibrancy of the vital personal relationships that continue to form the core of our business. In short, to truly serve as a partner in progress, we had to evolve our capabilities – at both an individual and intuitional scale - to match the changing aspirations of a new generation of Sri Lankans.

Accordingly, we sought to take active control of the brand and its evolution. Firstly, this required our team to refocus its efforts around delivering four central experiences to customers. We wanted to ensure that every customer that comes to HNB feels comfortable, reassured, valued and delighted.

This meant our touch points had to be more efficient and agile, while serving customers needs in a manner that was informative and transparent, while also being proactive and relevant with our recommendations for HNB products and services, so that ultimately, our service would be personal, and our customers would feel respected at all times.

Our efforts over the past decade in transforming our people, processes and technology were fundamental to delivering on that promise. This process started with a complete strategic reform of governance, adherence, compliance and risk management structures, which in turn cleared the way for centralization of core banking processes, leading to the establishment of centralised hubs for retail credit, collections, recoveries, credit operations, credit administration and secure repository.

In 2013, HNB set up a Process Improvement and Change Management Department, responsible for re-engineering age-old processes handed down through generations. The centralised hubs were then fitted with the skills necessary to free up the branch network and engage in quality customer interactions.

Most importantly, the launch of Project Everest, which commenced in 2018 to drive the digital transformation of banking by designing products and services, while enhancing capacity within its teams and updating its culture to be future-ready.

COVID disruptions served to further accelerate the bank’s digital transformation in order to provide expand access to contactless banking solutions, payments and settlements. HNB also expedited the development of its mobile wallet HNB SOLO, while carving out digital layers to create safe and secure work from home systems to provide essential banking services.

The time saved from these optimisations freed up our branch teams to focus on building up their relationships with customers, and develop their own expertise leveraging the Learning and Development programmes and support offered by HNB, and most importantly, providing advisory services, and solving real problems for customers at the ground level.

The benefits of cost optimisations were also re-directed either into incentive programmes for employees, or utilized to fund further technological capacity upgrades, and the revamping of our products and services across the bank, with a special emphasis on digitally enabled banking.

This in turn led to several innovations in digital banking, including a complete update to our digital banking app, and the launch of our breakthrough mobile and QR payments app, SOLO. Parallel to these innovations, we also introduced a slew of digital platforms in service of enterprises and MSMEs, including our Internet Payment Gateway (IPG) system, as well as HNB AppiGo, an affordable integrated end-to-end platform to enable small businesses to enter the e-commerce space.

Looking to the future, our goal is nothing less than the establishment of a new paradigm for banking excellence, not just in Sri Lanka, but across the Asian region as well. Given the historic down-turn in our nation’s economy, there may be those who feel we ought to be aiming for more modest outcomes. But we disagree. At such a crucial juncture, our choice to move ahead with this next phase in our transformational journey is aimed not only at inspiring our own team and celebrating the incredible progress that they have achieved over the past decade, but also for our customers, and our nation. This moment of crisis is exactly the right time to set our goals ambitiously.

With the launch of this updated brand identity, and all of the transformation that we have undergone to get to this point, we hope our message is clear. If we can harness the creativity, energy, intelligence, determination and resilience of our people, over the medium-long term, HNB is extremely bullish on our nation’s future, and we are committed to continue serving as a true partner in progress to all Sri Lankans, especially in the tough times ahead.

As a systematically important institution in the Sri Lankan economy, we want to demonstrate through our work, and our presence, that we are stepping forward to meet the challenges our nation faces head-on, and overcome them together with unity. We invite all Sri Lankans to be a part of this journey.