ICTA and Lanka Clear to integrate platform to facilitate online payments for e-government

The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) and Lanka Clear Pvt. Ltd. (LCPL) signed a landmark agreement to implement a single channel for online payments for government e-services, integrating the digital platforms of two institutions, which was a key component of National Payment Platform (NPP).

As the NPP ran into controversy in its implementation stage, ICTA CEO Damith Hettihewa told Mirror Business that the new ICTA management decided to have an alternative approach to implement the key NPP objectives.

“Earlier, the ICTA management attempted to undertake the mandate of other State institutes as well, which led to conflicts with these mandated institutions. The NPP will be implemented by multiple stakeholders rather than ICTA implementing all the components by itself. We will implement our mandated components to join them into the eco-system,” he said.

As a result of this approach, ICTA was able to enter into an agreement to integrate the digital platform of ICTA’S platform and LCP’S platform.

Following the integration, Hettihewa noted that citizens and businesses will be able to make online payments for multiple government services directly from their current or savings accounts utilizing the already existing payment infrastructure such as Internet/mobile banking facilities and Fintech apps.

ICTA currently facilitates online payments for