Dialog, NDB Bank Team

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Dialog Telekom, Sri Lanka’s flagship telecommunications Company together with NDB Bank, one of the leading private sector commercial banks in the country, today unveiled eZ Pay, South Asia’s first mCommerce (Mobile Commerce) initiative, a revolutionary service that allows consumers to purchase goods, pay bills, transfer money and perform banking transactions via their mobile phones.

Themed “mPowering a New Economy” eZ Pay is set to add a revolutionary and consumer centric dimension to inclusive banking in Sri Lanka. The Dialog-NDB Bank mobile commerce network will empower consumers with the ability to carry out a variety of electronic transactions using their mobile phone from anywhere within Dialog GSM’s network coverage.

The technology also facilitates the transformation of merchants and retailers (of varying size and scale) in to electronic payment acceptance points and mini-banking points. The facilitation of electronic transactions at the smallest of retail stores across the country is expected to create and nurture an all new wave of grass-root banking. Mobile Commerce technology enables mCommerce software on the SIM card to transform a standard mobile phone in to an electronic wallet in the hands of the consumer and/or a Point of Sale device capable of capturing and validating electronic (Mobile Commerce) transactions and banking transactions in the hands of retailers and merchants.

The eZ Pay concept has been brought to fruition through the joint efforts of Dialog Telekom and NDB Bank, institutions committed to pluralizing access to the benefits and facilities accruing from their respective products and technologies.

"On rare occasions the power of technology combines with economic forces to transform society” said Mr. Nihal Welikala Chief Executive of NDB Bank. “The impact of the mobile phone on the banking industry has the potential over time, to bring about fundamental change, to transform the way we do business, and with whom. It has the power to bring banking to the under-banked, to whoever owns a mobile phone, and at almost any location. It makes it possible for even small transactions to be effected instantly, at an affordable cost to the consumer. NDB Bank is proud to be associated with Dialog Telekom in this pioneering venture". Mr.Welikala went on to say that while many Sri Lankans in the lower income category use mobile phones, they do not open bank accounts and that the flexibility offered by eZ Pay will attract this segment to the banking stream, thereby enabling them to enjoy convenience, security and the other numerous benefits on offer.

Speaking at the inauguration of the service under the auspices of the Governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Mr Nivard Cabraal, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Executive, Dialog Telekom said “We are very proud to partner NDB Bank in bringing the region’s first mobile commerce initiative to commercial operation. We have been consistent in our commitment to our vision of empowering and enriching Sri Lankan lives and enterprises. Today we have been successful in harnessing the power of mobile telephony to deliver wide spread empowerment to consumers and retailers from all parts of Sri Lanka in terms of mobile commerce and banking enablement. Building on the strengths of our eZ electronic reload network and the spirit of innovation innate in our distributors, retailers and partners from all parts of the country, the eZ Pay service will no doubt set in motion a consumer centric and revolutionary transformation in payments and banking – signaling the emergence of a new mobile economy.”

Dialog GSM