The official launch of the new payment facility enabling the public to make payments to government institutions via bank cards (through POS machines) was held today (02) at the Thimbirigasyaya Divisional Secretariat, under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

This was launched as part of the Government’s national programme to strengthen digitalization and make public services more efficient, transparent, and accessible.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Media Division, the Premier ceremonially inaugurated POS machines installed at the Registrar’s Division on the ground floor and the Vehicle Revenue Licence Division on the fourth floor of the Thimbirigasyaya Divisional Secretariat.

The Prime Minister also symbolically witnessed the issuance of birth certificates and vehicle revenue licences using the new payment system.

Implemented under the guidance of the Colombo District Secretariat with the financial and technical support of the Bank of Ceylon (BOC), the project covers all 13 Divisional Secretariat Offices in the Colombo District. 

It enables members of the public to make secure payments using credit and debit cards for services requiring payments, the statement said.

Addressing the occasion, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that modernizing Sri Lanka’s public sector in line with the rapid pace of global digital transformation is one of the Government’s key priorities. 

She noted that the system enables the citizens to obtain public services more efficiently and within a shorter period of time without carrying money.

The new POS payment system, introduced today across all Divisional Secretariat Offices in the Colombo District, offers several key benefits, including:

The convenience of making direct payments using bank credit and debit cards without carrying cash, faster processing of transactions, reducing the time required to obtain government services minimizing the risks of financial fraud and loss associated with handling large amounts of cash, contributing to Sri Lanka’s overall digital economic development by encouraging the use of modern payment technologies, facilitating easier auditing of transactions while ensuring accurate recording of government revenue, thereby enhancing financial transparency and accountability.

From today onwards, this bank card payment facility will be available to the public at all Divisional Secretariat Offices in the Colombo District, and it is expected to further strengthen financial governance within the public service while creating a more transparent, accountable, and citizen-friendly administrative environment, the statement added.

The occasion was attended by Chairman of the Colombo District Coordination Committee Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration S. Aloka Bandara, Chief Secretary of the Western Province K. P. Pradeep Yasapala, Colombo District Secretary Ginige Prasanna Janaka Kumara, the Registrar General, the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic, Heads of Departments, Additional District Secretaries, and a number of distinguished guests.