Business News from Sri Lanka: The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced that worldwide holders of JCB (Japan Credit Bureau) Credit Cards can now withdraw money from the Bank’s ATMs in Sri Lanka, offering a noteworthy segment of tourists visiting the country easy access to their funds.
The announcement follows a network-wide upgrade of Commercial Bank’s ATMs to channel JCB card transactions to JCB International via the national card switch LankaPay, the Bank said.
Earlier this year, Commercial Bank became one of the first banks in Sri Lanka to have its point-of-sale (POS) network accept LankaPay-JCB co-branded cards issued under the national card scheme programme, and said the Bank’s POS machine network would gradually be upgraded to accept both LankaPay-JCB co-branded cards issued by local banks and JCB cards issued internationally.
The new development of ATM acceptance of JCB cards enables the Bank to enhance its services to the increasing number of tourists and business professionals visiting the country, especially from Asia where JCB has a large number of card members, the Bank said.
“We are delighted to announce that with the enablement of JCB, Commercial Bank’s ATM network becomes the leading acceptor of card brands in the country,” said Mr Thusitha Suraweera, Head of Commercial Bank’s Card Centre. “This is in line with the Bank’s continuing drive to offer the highest possible levels of convenience through its investments in technology.”
Commercial Bank’s ATM network, currently comprising of 854 terminals, is the single largest ATM network owned by a private bank in Sri Lanka. The Bank’s ATMs accept Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, LankaPay, Plus, Diners Club International, Discover and JCB cards. The Bank’s ATMs are secured with EMV technology and anti-skimming devices which protect the cardholders from counterfeit transactions.
The Bank’s POS machines enable holders of LankaPay-JCB co-branded cards and JCB international cards to perform both contact and contactless transactions. Commercial Bank’s point-of-sale network also acquires Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay cards, and provides WeChat Pay and Alipay QR code based acquiring services, offering the highest number of payment acceptance channels from a single system to merchants.
JCB is the only international payment brand based in Japan and has been committed to expanding its international presence since 1981. It offers a suite of high-quality products and services that meet the diverse needs of its customers worldwide. Today it has 123 million cardmembers, including payment related product users, and operates in 22 countries and territories.
The only Sri Lankan Bank to be ranked among the world’s top 1000 banks for nine years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 267 branches in Sri Lanka. The Bank won over 40 international and local awards in 2018, has received more than 25 awards to date this year, and been ranked among the 10 Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka in 2019.
Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon and a Microfinance company in Nay PyiTaw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.
