Dialog Eazy Cash (eZ Cash) is loanched...

Dialog Axiata launches Mobile Money Service

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

Dialog Axiata announced the launch of the country’s first Mobile Money Service following being awarded a license under the aegis of the Payments and Settlements Act No 28 of 2005.
Custodial Banking services for Sri Lanka’s pioneering mobile money service will be provided by Hatton National Bank PLC. State of the art Mobile Money technology introduced by Dialog under the brand name, eZ Cash, enables mobile subscribers to maintain a mobile money account in their mobile phone.

The Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Telecom Regulatory Commission Director General, Anusha Palpita inaugurating Sri Lanka's first Mobile Money service by completing a money transfer transaction on Dialog Axiata's eZ Cash service. Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC and Jonathan Alles, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Hatton National Bank PLC look on.

Using their eZ Cash mobile money account, customers can now send and receive money to/from more than 7.5 million Dialog mobile users, settle utility bills and make payments for other goods and services, direct from their mobile phone.
The initiative while enabling Dialog mobile phone users to carry out transactions will also support large degree of financial inclusion. This will enable mobilizing of significant amount of funds to the formal economy encompassed by every segment of society, Director and Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said.
“We are privileged to have the opportunity to lead Sri Lanka’s mobile industry in to the era of Mobile Money, an era which will see the mobile phone become a versatile cash transacting and payment instrument,” he said.
“Mobile Money technology will transform the way we transact cash and will enable electronic money interchange and electronic payments to be brought within the reach of every Sri Lankan citizen. The dawn of the Mobile Money era in Sri Lanka has been made possible by the progressive and financial inclusion focused regulatory ethos of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. In this respect Sri Lanka’s payments and settlement legislation and mobile payment regulations stand among the most progressive in the world.
Emboldened by the support and facilitation received from the Central Bank, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and our custodian bank HNB, we are confident that this pioneering initiative to deliver a nationwide Mobile Money service will deliver an unprecedented level of financial inclusion through the empowerment of millions of Sri Lankan citizens with electronic money transfer and payment facilities,” Dr. Wijayasuriya added.
“Achieving Financial Inclusion through progressive regulation and innovation has been a principal and consistent ethos of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka,” Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal said.
“Accordingly, the Mobile Payment regulations and associated enabling environment established by the CBSL has been designed to extend the benefits of sending and receiving money and electronic payment via a mobile phone to all segments of society.
“Over the past decade, the mobile phone has no doubt transformed the lives of millions of Sri Lankan citizens from across all parts of the country. Now with the facility to transfer money and make payments direct from the mobile phone, a vast majority of our population would be further empowered with the power and efficacy of electronic transactions. It gives me great pleasure to see that Dialog, Sri Lanka’s leading mobile operator has risen to the challenge of bringing this product to the market, building on the enabling environment established under the aegis of the Payments and Settlements Act.
It is also heartening to see the innovation drive of the banking and telecommunication sectors come together to further the common cause of citizen empowerment and financial inclusion, with HNB playing the role of the custodian bank and Deutsche Bank acting as the trustee for Sri Lanka’s first Mobile Money Service”, he said. “We are pleased to see that our efforts towards making Mobile Telephony services available and affordable to all have contributed in no small manner to the enhancement of the quality of life of Sri Lankans” Director - General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL). Anusha Palpita said. “The use of the mobile phone to send and receive money and engage in transactions with the broader retail and enterprise sectors of the economy,has increased efficiency and expedited the time taken to conclude a business transaction thereby giving a big boost to the national economy,”he said.
“We must record our appreciation of the Central Bank for its far sighted vision and efforts in developing the necessary enabling regulations thus making it possible for mobile phone based electronic transactions to be conducted in Sri Lanka, and in turn delivering a wide range of benefits to the people of this country.
We must further register our appreciation of the contribution made by Dialog in directing its innovative capability to develop a service which constitutes another noteworthy landmark as we move ahead on the road towards embracing cutting edge mobile communications,”
Palpita added.
Hatton National Bank Chief Executive Officer Rajendra Theagarajah, speaking on the role of HNB in supporting Sri Lanka’s first mobile money service said “Today, Sri Lanka enters a new era in Payment Solutions through mobile phones, facilitating low value transactions and fund transfers within the country, bringing about much aspired convenience through affordable technology. This solution will provide the platform for financial inclusion of all Sri Lankans and is part of the overall development roadmap envisioned for the country’s electronic payments landscape. HNB, with its island-wide retail banking presence, is proud to be the Custodian Bank supporting Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s mobile market leader, in this ground breaking venture.

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