National Card Scheme (NCS)

Overview

LankaPay (Private) Limited have entered a strategic partnership with JCB international to acquire EMV Chip technology for the issuance of the LankaPay Card as part of the National Card Scheme under the direction and supervision of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Financial institutions can choose to issue LankaPay Card which offers a plethora of benefits to the financial institutions and their customers. LankaPay Cards are accepted across the LankaPay payment network (ATM and POS) locally and across the JCB International network globally.

You may visit https://www.global.jcb/en/index.html to obtain more information about our partner network JCB International.

JCB has entered into a strategic partnership with our neighbour, India and has commenced issuing co-brand RuPay JCB cards in India. Hence, both Sri Lankan co branded card holders touring India and Indian co-branded card holders touring Sri Lanka will be benefitted by this added convenience of using their debit and credit cards securely cross-border

Why LankaPay-JCB Co-branded Payment Card?

  • Lower transaction cost to cardholders
  • Lower Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) for merchants
  • Lower fee structures for card issuing banks and financial institutions
  • Contact and Contactless EMV chip cards backed by world class Japanese technology and processes
  • Multi-purpose payment card which can also be used as a transport card.
  • A national initiative, implemented under the supervision of the Central Bank to cater for domestic requirements with lower fees and charges. Hence banks can develop electronic card product options to cater for under-banked and unbanked population of Sri Lanka
  • Help save valuable foreign exchange paid to International Payment Card scheme

Benefits of the LankaPay Card

Financial Institutions

LankaPay-JCB co-branded payment cards will provide following benefits to card issuing institutions, in turn such benefits passed on to the respective card holders, the public:

  • A simple and a direct charging structure
  • No hidden charges
  • No volume base charges
  • No project management cost
  • No direct integration with JCB International, however, obtains worldwide access to JCB ATM and POS Merchant base.
  • No outflow of foreign exchange as transaction charges for domestic transactions.

Public, LankaPay Card holders

  • Only Rs. 15 for other bank ATM withdrawals compared to Rs. 30 on other cards
  • Proud holder of a local card.
  • Opportunity to contribute towards reducing the outflow of foreign exchange from Sri Lanka.

Merchants

  • Less transaction cost – maximum 1% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) if the customer uses a LankaPay Card compared to higher MDR by other cards.

Card Types

Features of the LankaPay Card

  • Standard contactless debit card
  • Standard contactless credit card
  • 2in1 contactless debit card, which also works as the Sri Lanka Transit Card.
  • 2in1 contactless credit card, which also works as the Sri Lanka Transit Card.

Features

  • Access ATMs located island wide, and any ATM connected to the JCB network worldwide.
  • Access to any POS terminal located island-wide that carries the ‘LankaPay’ logo and internationally, that carries the ‘JCB’ logo.
  • The E-commerce feature will be enabled very soon.
  • Enabled as a transit card (transport card) if you carry a 2in1 contactless card.

Current Memberships

  • Regional Development Bank
  • MCB Bank
  • HDFC Bank
  • People’s Bank
  • National Savings Bank
  • Commercial Bank

Sri Lanka Transit Card

A payment card, that provides the customer the convenience of using it as a ATM / Debit card and a Stored Value / Pre-Paid card. A holder of this card does not need to carry cash or multiple payment cards, but a single card facilitates multiple form factors to cater for all the customer needs.

This special payment card allows you to access your designated primary savings/current account, and there is a separate component of the card where you have the freedom to top-up and use whenever you wish to. The transactions are processed in no time without depending on the telecommunication or network connectivity while providing the card holder the real “Tap and Go” experience. The card powered by this unique capability is known as the “2in1” card.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has entrusted LankaPay (Pvt) Limited to implement the Sri Lanka Transit Card and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka also has recognized the National Card Scheme (NCS) to drive the card base of Sri Lanka Transit Card Program.

LankaPay 2in1 Contactless Card is recognised as the Sri Lanka Transit Card.

Objectives

  • Provide a common framework for interoperability between multiple Issuers and Acquirers.
  • Standardize the transportation industry payment mechanisms leading to greater efficiency and transparency.
  • Enhance the customer travel experience by seamlessly integrating popular transportation modes.
  • Contribute to the national objective of a less-cash society.
  • Welfare of the transportation industry and working community.

Benefits to the commuter

  • No need to carry cash.
  • No hassle of meddling with change money. (Fare can be paid up to the exact amount)
  • Top-up whenever you need and use.
  • Tap and go option for all the modes of transport. A quick and convenient payment option.
  • Single card to withdraw money from an ATM, do shopping purchases and use it in a bus or a train to buy tickets.
  • This is an international card. Therefore, the card can be used outside Sri Lanka as well over JCB acceptance enabled POS Terminals and ATMs


Implementation

The four-party agreement for the implementation of SLTC was signed amongst Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), National Transport Commission (NTC), People’s Bank and LankaPay Ltd. at the Ministry of Transport on 22 April under the distinguished patronage of Minister of Transport Gamini Lokuge, State Minister – Vehicle Regulation, Bus Transport Services.

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