National Payment Platform for online payments to promote digital commerce

The Government is to set up a National Payment Platform (NPP) to handle online payments to encourage digital commerce. Cabinet this week approved a proposal by Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake to set up such a platform to ease digital transactions.

While international credit cards have become the most convenient way to pay for goods and services, Sri Lanka’s use and adoption of credit cards is still comparatively low, due especially to the transaction charge levied by the international payment card scheme, the Government noted.

Government institutions such as Sri Lanka Customs, Department of Inland Revenue, Excise Department and others are currently unable to accept online payments, as the transaction values are large and Government institutions cannot bear the high transaction fees levied by such international card schemes.

This compels citizens to fall back on payment by cheque/cash, due to lack of alternatives for convenient online payment solutions. As a result, the country as a whole, is yet to achieve a standard level of digitalisation.

However, once the proposed NPP is established, all Government organisations are to integrate to it, to allow businesses and citizens make online payments on real-time for services offered.

Implementation of the NPP will ensure that Sri Lanka’s ranking in the Global Index of Ease of Doing Business will drastically improve, the Finance Ministry stressed.

The Government has already taken several measures towards improving its ranking in the global index. The amendment to existing Financial Regulations on “Payments to Government Institutions through Electronic Media” (FR 447) is one such important improvement, according to the Government.

The NPP will be developed by the State-run Information & Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), under the supervision of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). LankaClear, owned by the CBSL and all licensed Banks in Sri Lanka, will be able to integrate with the NPP, if it wishes to provide payment services for Government Institutions.