Sampath Bank introduces Visa payWave credit cards

Reaffirming its leadership position in introducing many firsts to Sri Lanka, Sampath Bank introduced an innovative feature for contactless payments with the unveiling of Visa payWave credit cards, the first contactless card in Sri Lanka. The Sampath Bank Visa payWaveInfinite credit card was launched at a grand ceremony hosted recently at the newly opened, Shangri-La Hotel, Hambantota.

Over the two-day event, Sampath Bank hosted 100 clients and the card was launched in the presence of chief guest, Roshan Mahanama, former national cricketer and reputed match Referee of International Cricket Council, guest of honour –the initial Head of Card Centre in Sampath Bank and pioneer of introducing international credit cards to Sri Lanka, Kumar Weerasuriya, representatives from VisaInc, and officials from Sampath Bank PLC. 
Warmly welcoming their guests to the luxurious Resort and Spa – Shangri La, Hambantota Sampath Bank held a series of activities throughout the day leading up to the night of the launch. With a landscape of colourful lights and modern melodies from a live band, Sampath Bank set the ambience for an exclusive gala dinner during which the guests witnessed the launch of Visa payWave for the very first time in Sri Lanka. 

Following the night of fun, glamour and gala, all 100 guests were issued their own Visa payWaveInfinite credit card during a refreshing brunch. Guests later enjoyed the opportunity to test their golfing skills at Shangri-La’s premier 18-hole golf-course, offering a spectacular view of the green landscape.

With Visa payWave, customers and merchants can now enjoy a range of unprecedented benefits – primarily the benefit and convenience of not having to stand in long lines at merchant outlets. With a Visa payWave card, customers have to simply tap their Visa payWave card at a payWav-enabled terminal to pay for their purchases and the transaction will be completed in a matter of seconds. For transactions up to Rs.5,000, Visa payWave cardholders can use their contactless cards without having to enter the pin or sign transaction receipts. Customers can also enjoy their shopping experience oversees as Visa payWave is accepted in many foreign countries. 
The Visa payWave-enabled contactless cards ensure that transactions are secure, as the card never leaves the hands of the customer thereby reducing the risk of card loss and fraud. It also reduces queuing time for customers as it is a faster way to pay. Whilst Sampath Bank has launched Visa payWave exclusively for its Sampath Infinite credit card holders, the bank aims to further extend this unique feature to all of its credit and debit cardholders in the near future. 

Tharaka Ranwala, Senior Deputy General Manager – Consumer Banking, Sampath Bank PLC remarking on this launch – “Being the first bank in Sri Lanka to roll out contactless payments with Visa payWave, strongly illustrates the bank’s pro-activeness to embrace world-wide technologies in order to provide our customers and merchants with new experiences of convenience and satisfaction. It is further a privilege to partner with Visa as Visa payWave will bring a significant shift in the dimension of card payment methods. This will further add value to the shopping experience of customers and merchants alike, whilst opening more windows of opportunities to take the banking industry to newer levels of innovation, premium convenience and security.” 

T.R. Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa, further remarked, “We congratulate Sampath Bank on pioneering the initiative to launch the first Visa contactless card in Sri Lanka. Contactless cards will play a key role in shaping the future of the payments landscape in Sri Lanka, encouraging the replacement of cash making payments faster, easier, more convenient and secure.” 
SampathCards continues to offer new products that cater to the needs of convenience, time-saving and security of customers, whilst trail blazing as the most inclusive and welcoming credit card in the country. 
Sampath Bank’s effort in introducing Visa PayWave for the first time to the banking industry of Sri Lanka has set a benchmark in customers’ method of payments and their shopping experience. This launch empowers Sampath Bank to continue its leadership in offering incomparable banking services to its customers and the country.