Lowest commission rates through UPay app
While digital payments are leading the way forward globally, UPay a Sri Lankan mobile app introduced by a start-up, Payment Services (Pvt) Ltd provides the lowest commission rates for merchants during transactions.
The Central Bank (CB) approved mobile app is the first in Sri Lanka to use the JUSTPAY payment gateway platform a brainchild of Lanka Clear to ease transactions digitally without cash, debit or credit card, Payment Services (Pvt) Ltd CEO, Asela Wickremesooriya told the Business Times.
He said, “Merchants will be charged a commission of less than 2 per cent during transactions whereas other payment platforms charge 2-3 per cent.”
Mr. Wickremesooriya also noted that the CB continuously supports cashless transactions. “Less than 50 per cent of the population has bank accounts in Sri Lanka today and the Central Bank wants to increase this,” he added.
UPay mobile app was introduced in January this year by Payment Services (Pvt) Ltd, launched in 2016 by co-founders Talwatte Malaka, Chairman of Saffron Capital and Vishal Bakshani, CEO of 12th Door. In the second round of investments, Kimin Power; MAS Holdings CEO Nathan Sivagananathan; Dunamis Caplital PLC; Catamar Capital, a Silicon Valley-based impact funding company and Orion City Director Jeevan Gnanam came in as seed investors.
Over 50 merchants have signed up with UPay so far with the company target being 500 merchants by April this year and 1200 merchants by the end of the year.
Today (March 04) UPay will host Sri Lanka’s first cashless sales at the Royal College MAS Arena. Over 75 merchants will accept cashless or cardless transactions with no commission to be paid.
Mr. Wickremesooriya noted, “We are not chasing behind big brands; we want to support entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises where e-commerce is growing in the rural community than in the urban cities. People have access to Internet and they buy things online. The digital penetration in Sri Lanka is picking up by 4-5 per cent on a yearly basis.”
UPay app is available on both iOS and android mobile phones and can be downloaded and transactions can be done at merchants that use the UPay payment gateway platform. He said the CB has reduced the maximum transaction rate through mobile phones to Rs. 10,000 to minimise the risk factor.