Seylan Bank’s foreign remittances cross Rs. 12 bn mark in Q2 2009

Seylan Bank PLC has disbursed over Rs. 12.7 bn in foreign remittances for the first half of 2009, thanks to several global money transfer systems such as MoneyGram, Xpress Money, Instant Cash, SAMBA, Speed Cash, Ez Remit and AFX Fast Remit. The SWIFT money remittance service via banks and other financial institutions also made a significant contribution to this volume. Chairman of Seylan Bank, Eastman Narangoda attributed the increase in such foreign remittances to the faith and confidence the Sri Lankan diaspora and expatriate workers living and working overseas had in the newly structured Seylan Bank. “We’re both happy and honoured to assist Sri Lankans overseas to conveniently make remittances to their loved ones at home. Seylan Bank, a pioneer in the inward remittance business, today embraces nearly 170 countries and territories around the world and is spread over around 128,000 locations. We’re indeed proud to service our loyal and growing clientele in the Middle East, Australia, Europe, UK, USA and other parts of the world,” the Chairman said.
“We have, in fact, put in place a totally holistic approach in harnessing the earnings of Sri Lankan expatriates. This not only helps swell the country’s foreign currency reserves, but also facilitates hassle-free remittances to their dependants,” Mr. Narangoda added. The Seylan Bank has harnessed the resources of the print and electronic media to reach Sri Lankan expatriates overseas. The Bank’s website also receives several thousand hits a day from all parts of the world.

The Bank also reaches out to the large Sri Lankan disapora around the world through various societies, welfare associations, sports clubs and foreign missions which organise regular events for Sri Lankan nationals resident in those countries, events such as Independence Day and Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations, and events to commemorate Vesak and various cultural shows.


Seylan Bank has also actively teamed up with the numerous popular and well attended musical shows and concerts where Sri Lankan bands and artistes perform, which draw large crowds.

As part of a personalised campaign, officials from the Seylan Bank regularly meet groups of Sri Lankans working overseas and apprise them of the Bank’s value-added foreign currency accounts and range of remittance services offered. This has proved to be a very effective means of communication, bringing the Bank valuable first-hand customer feedback.

In addition to its well developed multi-channel delivery of services, the Bank also maintains a 24 hour, 365 day banking outlet at the Seylan Towers in Colombo 03, that enables the receipt of urgent remittances to beneficiaries in Sri Lanka on a continuous basis.

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