Sri Lanka rolls out its National Card Scheme

Initially, a debit card will be issued under this card scheme. Additionally, the NCS cards will be accepted across over 4,800 ATMs, connected to LankaPay’s network to facilitate cash withdrawals. The first LankaPay–JCB debit card issued by MCB Bank went live via acquiring banks of the Common Point of Sales (CPS) Switch – Cargills Bank and Commercial Bank of Ceylon.

Seylan Bank will also join CPS on a non-commercial basis. Customers of MCB Bank who have been issued with LankaPay–JCB debit cards can now use all POS terminals operated by these banks.

The NCS, initiated in 2017 by LCPL under the direction of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, aims to bring in greater autonomy to the country’s payment infrastructure and reduce the current outflow of foreign exchange as service fees when making local currency payments. Enabling financial inclusion is one of the prime objectives of NCS. With the roll out of the NCS, financial institutions will be able to offer card-based payment solutions to their customers at a lower cost.