Dialog partners with Australia for payments pilot in Northern Province

Sri Lankan operator Dialog Axiata announced it is collaborating with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to pilot a digital payment platform rollout across 200 ATM locations in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province.

With LKR60 million (around $393,000) from DFAT’s Business Partnerships Platform and LKR91 million of its own funding, Dialog intends to reach and support underbanked communities with its digital payment retail system.

Customers in 200 locations will be able to withdraw money via eZ Cash across a wide network of corner stores and ATMs by using their mobile phones. eZ Cash – launched in 2012 – is a cross-operator mobile wallet licensed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka that customers can use to pay for goods, services and mobile reloads. Also, eZ cash customers can send and receive money between any mobile phone in Sri Lanka.

The Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Bryce Hutchesson, said the partnership with Dialog Axiata “lays the foundation for the delivery of advanced digital and financial services to Sri Lankans in the Northern Province.”

Rainer Deutschmann, Group Chief Operating Officer of Dialog Axiata, added, “This project is part of our wider Digital Transformation Initiative to support economic growth not just in the Northern region but across the whole country. The eZ Cash based platform shall stimulate new business opportunities for entrepreneurs and small retailers with a special focus on women retailers. Dialog will provide training and run parallel digital literacy programs to expedite adoption.”