Lake House Printers and India’s Manipal Technologies launch digital banking solution

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe displays the first bank card issued under his name in less than15 minutes through the kiosk powered by India’s Manipal Technologies and Lake House Printers. Lake House Printers AGM Tony Johnpillai (left)  and MTL Vice President & Business Head-Banking, Rajesh Shet are also in the picture  
Pic by Nisal Baduge 

India’s Manipal Technologies Limited (MTL) in association with Sri Lanka’s Lake House Printers and Publishers PLC (LHPP) yesterday launched a cutting-edge digital banking solution to cater to the growing needs of the Lankan banks and their customers.
The event was graced by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy and leading bankers of the country. 
During the launch it was shared that the digital bank branches provide banks and financial institutions an easy front-end solution to convert their traditional banking system into cashless, technology-driven systems. 
It appeals to the next-generation banking customers as well as reduces the overall cost of operations for the bank.
 The solution will help customers to open an account, complete validation and account activation process as well obtain a personalized debit card instantly. 

The facility has the capability to issue replacement cards in case of lost or damaged cards. The banks can extend the capabilities to offer loan account processing as well as credit card issuance. The customer can also obtain a digital card (virtual card) for use at online and retail outlets. 
 ‘ManipalPay’ is a leading edge virtual card solution for card-less payments. The customer will be able to generate a unique ‘virtual card number’ for every transaction. The card number is automatically void after every transaction, thus eliminating any risk of card data being compromised. 
The solution also allows making payment without a POS machine through digital technology at the retail outlets. The solution uses leading technology provided by Miri Inc.
The solution along with the related technologies was demonstrated by MTL Vice President & Business Head-Banking, Rajesh Shet, to the banking community during the launch event held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo.  MTL Vice President-Sales & Marketing, Nagendra Rao was also present during the occasion. 
Speaking on the occasion, MTL CEO Abhay Gupte stated: “Our innovative solutions using state-of-the-art technologies are driving changes in the banking industry in India for the last 75 years. With the launch of the digital bank branches, the growing banking and financial service sector now can deploy world-class solutions and provide digital experience to the customers.” 
“With recent success in implementing the end-to-end digital bank branch solution at 250 branches across 37 cities for the leading banks in India, the solution is now being explored by major banks in Sri Lanka. With the changing scenario in the country’s economy and digital banking expectations of the customer, we feel that banks in Sri Lanka will also move in this direction. These solutions are mutually beneficial to banks as well as to their customers,” he added. 
LHPP Chairman Ranjith S. Wijewardene said that MTL and LHPP have been associated for over a decade in providing solutions to banks in Sri Lanka. 
“Together, we serve more than 12 major banks in Sri Lanka with 40 percent market share in the issuance of banking cards. With the launch of digital bank branch solution, we are taking our association to the next level of digital offerings to our valued customers in Sri Lanka”.
The recent trends show that consumers of financial services are turning to computers, smartphones, and tablets more for their business interactions with banks. 
With wider availability of high-speed telecom networks across large geographies, the technology adoption is much faster across various customer segments. The younger generation is expecting digital interactions, complex banking products and ease of doing business through multiple channels in the banking industry.