17 January 2018 08:13 am
Sri Lanka’s first and largest mobile money and payment service, eZ Cash, rolled out the first phase of its mobile-operated ATM machine to selected retailers from the Northern Province.
The initiative in collaboration with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) was launched last November in Jaffna, and will roll out in phases to expand across 200 ATM locations in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province.
The eZ Cash ATM machines were handed over to empower merchants and stimulate new business opportunities for entrepreneurs and small retailers with a special focus on women retailers. The eZ Cash based platform will also extend more facilities and cross offers that will empower merchants and provide facilities for utility bills and insurance to be paid at corner stores. Merchants will also receive the necessary training and parallel digital literacy programmes introduced to expedite adoption.
The ATM machine has been developed in collaboration with the University of Moratuwa Mobile Communications Research Laboratory and will perform the function of cash withdrawals and cash acceptance. Customers across Dialog, Etisalat and Hutch networks will be able to withdraw money via eZ Cash across a wide network of corner stores and ATMs by simply using their mobile phones.
Commenting at the event, Janaka Jayalath, Senior General Manager, Mobile Money and Digital Services Operations, Dialog Axiata PLC said, “The introduction of eZ CashATM machines will help increase adoption and the use of mobile wallets. The high withdrawal frequency and foreign money remittances were reason to roll out the project initially in the North and later extend it across the country. With a greater vision to enable financial inclusion in the country, we hope to empower merchants and reach underbanked communities that would not have access to such facilities.”