People’s Bank recently entered into an agreement with the National Investment Industrial Bank in Russia to facilitate a novel remittance mechanism that enables efficient and convenient fund transfers from Russia to accounts in Sri Lanka.
This will auger well for the island nations efforts to over come the fore crisis and the resulting energy crisis, economic experts said.
The importance of Mir cards for Russians rose substantially this year after U.S. payments firms Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc suspended operations in Russia and their cards that were issued in Russia stopped working abroad, against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion and continuing war against Ukraine.
Cuba, South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam and a handful of former Soviet republics accept Mir, which means both “peace” and “world” in Russian, with others such as Iran intending to follow suit soon.
The boasting CB’s bold decision of refusal to accept this payment system at a time where the country is facing severe energy and forex crisis and only the SL tourism began to regain with Russian tourist tourist arrivals.
This is not auger well for financial assistance , investment and trade from Russia with Love, several analysts of foreign affairs said.
However according to the Peoples Bank arrangement, beneficiaries in Sri Lanka, especially service providers, exporters etc. will be able to receive funds quickly and cost effectively.
Most importantly, Russian tourists will be able to remit funds to an account at People’s Bank in Sri Lanka prior to their visits, through the National Investment Industrial Bank in Russia without involvement of an intermediary bank.
Upon arrival in Sri Lanka, tourists will be issued Debit Cards which can be used to make payments seamlesslyfrom the remitted funds.
Sujeewa Rajapakse, Chairman of People’s Bank, said the introduction of this payment platform will be highly beneficial to Russian tourists visiting Sri Lanka to make hassle free payments during their tour.
Its network of 818 ATMs, 315 CDMs and 743 branches will allow them easy access across the island. We are delighted to enable this novel service which will also contribute towards growth of local tourism related businesses, he added.
Ranjith Kodituwakku, Chief Executive Officer/General Manager of People’s Bank, added, “People’s Bank will be able to offer this facility at significantly reduced banking charges for both tourists or any other party that want to remit funds to Sri Lanka.
A main objective of this collaboration is to increase inflow of valuable foreign exchange to Sri Lanka through a proper financial channel.
This initiative will contribute towards enhancing the foreign exchange position of the country while boosting the attractiveness of Sri Lanka as one of the best and rapidly emerging tourism destinations for Russian tourists.
