Combank launches mobile remittance channel between South Korea and Sri Lanka

Collaborates with GME to launch ‘Mobile to Account’ Remittance Service’ for 30,000- strong expatriate Sri Lankan community

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first Sri Lankan institution to launch a ‘Mobile to Account Remittance Service’ between South Korea and Sri Lanka, facilitating real time fund transfers from an estimated 30,000 Sri Lankans employed in the East Asian nation.

The service, launched in collaboration with Global Money Express Co Ltd. (GME), one of the first exchange companies in the Republic to obtain a money transfer licence, paves the way for real time fund transfers between the two countries at lower charges and higher exchange rates, the Bank said.

The formal launch of the new service took place in Seoul recently with the participation of a Commercial Bank team led by the Bank’s Chief Operating Officer S. Renganathan.

Commenting on the ground- breaking collaboration with GME, Commercial Bank’s Chief Operating Officer S. Renganathan said: “The integration of the systems of GME and Commercial Bank is a milestone development in the remittance business between South Korea and Sri Lanka, which has maintained a fruitful employment agreement for several years. This new remittance service will provide much convenience to Sri Lankans working in Korea.”

South Korea is an active market for Sri Lankan migrant workers who on average earn US$ 2,500/- per month, which is well above the average earning levels in the Middle East and is also above the average of many other countries of the Far East. According to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), between 3000 and 6000 new visas are expected to be offered to Sri Lanka by South Korea every year.