HNB uses digital banking to support stay-at-home Sri Lankans

HNB PLC has announced a series of partnerships and digital innovations aimed at supporting customers and enterprises with uninterrupted access to all essential banking services during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

HNB encouraged all customers to make the switch to online, mobile and digital channels in order to meet all of their basic needs – including everything from checking balances to transferring funds and payment of bills, the bank said in a media release. 

Supporting the urgent need to enhance convenience on home delivery services, the bank partnered with Pickme, Uber Eats and Wasi.lk to ensure the delivery of daily essentials to customers’ doorstep in a convenient and safe manner. Payment for these services will be linked to HNB credit and debit cards in order to minimise the need for physical contact at the point of delivery. 

Additionally, the bank also launched doorstep mobile ATM services which have facilitated 7,000+ HNB and non-HNB customers to withdraw a combined sum of over Rs. 100 million to date, in order to facilitate transactions with vendors that aren’t able to accept card or online payments. These services were initiated specifically in areas under continuous curfew including: Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Puttlam, Kandy and Jaffna. 

The bank, reacting to the urgent requirement for enabling small and medium enterprises, also expanded the roll out of HNB MOMO and SOLO to businesses in order to provide such businesses with the ability to accept payments via card and QR code from HNB SOLO users. 

Similarly, the bank also expanded access to its proprietary AppiGo platform which enables merchants to establish a comprehensive and fully functional online store from scratch in just 15 minutes. 

The bank also established access to the myfees.lk platform in order to enable institutes and schools to accept fees and payments online. Additionally, HNB also enabled larger corporates to reach customers to directly sell their products by integrating Internet Payment Gateway (IPG) solution for payment acceptance, the release said.
 
Meanwhile, HNB directed all customers facing difficulty in accessing online banking services, to utilise its ATM network to also make cash deposits and transfer funds, reload mobile bills and even pay utility bills.