Sampath Bank partners SDB Bank in offering cash management solutions

Sampath Bank PLC recently entered into a strategic partnership with SDB Bank in which customers of SDB can gain access to Sampath Bank’s branch network and cash/ cheque deposit kiosks, enabling greater convenience and accessibility to new services, thereby driving greater financial inclusion.

“This partnership goes on to showcase how the convergence of a licenced specialised bank and a licenced commercial bank can create synergies, in line with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Government’s vision of consolidation within the banking industry,” Sampath Bank said in a media release.

The agreement, signed at the

Sampath Bank Head Office in Colombo, seeks to develop a long-term partnership between both banks and their customers with Sampath Bank playing the role of a secondary participant to SDB Bank for SLIPS and CEFTS Settlements as the first phase of the Cash Management Solution (CMS).

“The key merits of this partnership are that SDB Bank customers will now have access to Sampath Bank’s branch network comprising 228 branches including 13 Super Branches, 465 cash deposit kiosks, allowing them to carry out specific banking services such as cash/ cheque depositing and loan repayments, among others. SDB Bank will benefit by being able to offer its customers an entirely new portfolio of modern banking products and services, thus creating greater customer satisfaction and loyalty, while Sampath Bank will be able to reach hitherto untapped customer markets, helping businesses and individuals in those areas to grow” the statement said.

Speaking about the partnership Halin Hettigoda, Head of Deposit Mobilization, Sampath Bank PLC, said, “We are very proud to enter into this historic agreement with SDB Bank and congratulate them on the bold steps taken to create powerful operational synergies and an enhanced value proposition for their customers. Furthermore, the fact that they were so willing to partner with us, despite Sampath Bank being a larger operator, speaks volumes to the trust and confidence they have in us and the strength of our relationship.”

Thilak Piyadigama, CEO, SDB Bank, said, “This extension of our long- standing relationship with Sampath Bank will offer several benefits to our customers including centralization and improved management of payments and collections together with improving returns on liquidity. We are very excited about the potential of this innovative solution which will allow us to take that next step of delivering higher value services to all customer segments while streamlining our processes for the convenience of our employees.”