With the aim of encouraging the Sri Lankan public to make more digital transactions, the Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) offered to financial institutions and finance service institutions through the LANKAQR system have been increased from this month.
Accordingly, the MDR offered for LANKAQR, which is currently 0.5%, will be increased to 1 %, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said. He made these comments while releasing the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s Policy Statement for 2025 and Beyond. The Governor, who further expressed his views, said that specific changes will be made to the country’s payment settlement system by the year 2025 to make it faster and more efficient.
Under this, it was also said that several ancillary laws, such as the Guidelines for Minimum Compliance Standards for Mobile Applications Providing Payment Facilities, will be amended in 2025 to facilitate the rapid expansion of large-scale digital payments.
The Central Bank launched a new Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system in 2024 that is fully compliant with ISO 20022 standards for domestic payment transactions. The Central Bank plans to comply with this standard for all international transactions, adhering to international time frames.
Payment methods using the Common Electronic Fund Transfer Switch (CEFTS) will be further expanded, specifically targeting payments made to government institutions.
The Government Digital Payment Platform (GDPP), which will enable government institutions without digital databases to receive real-time payments from the public through online banking/mobile payment applications, will be implemented in 2025 after successful pilot tests conducted in 2024. The Governor also emphasized that the Central Bank is committed to ensuring public trust by identifying the problems faced by the public related to digital payments, monitoring fraud and issuing necessary guidelines.
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