National QR Payment Promotion Programme launched

Colombo, April 6 (Daily Mirror) -Sri Lanka took a major step towards a digital economy with the launch of the “National QR Payment Promotion Programme” today (06) under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The President’s Media Division (PMD) announced that, with effect from today, the service charge levied on merchants for all LankaQR transactions up to Rs. 5,000 has been completely removed.

The move aims to promote a cash-lite economy by reducing the use of physical currency and encouraging digital payments, particularly among small-scale merchants. Financial institutions have removed the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for LankaQR transactions up to Rs. 5,000, allowing merchants to accept QR payments without any additional cost.

Sri Lanka already has a well-established digital payment infrastructure, with 89 percent of adults having access to banking facilities. The CEFTS network processes around 68 million transactions per quarter, amounting to Rs. 6.3 trillion, while LankaQR is now accepted at more than 450,000 merchant locations islandwide.