Sri Lanka’s leading private sector bank HNB PLC’s pioneering digital payments app HNB SOLO
recently signed up Access Natural Water (Pvt.) Ltd with the brand name Aquafresh as an official
vendor, enabling customers to make their payments digitally in a seamless transition supported by
LANKAQR.
Under this tie-up, Aquafresh customers will be able to conveniently make all of their payments by
scanning the QR codes now available on the monthly invoice, with the HNB SOLO app.
Commenting on the partnership, HNB Head of Marketing, Chammika Weerasinghe said: “We are
truly committed to driving this digital payments transition to encourage the whole of Sri Lanka to
adopt QR codes as the new payment solution. This partnership with Aquafresh, the trend setter in
the bottled water industry, is a monumental milestone in this revolutionary initiative which has
offered HNB SOLO the opportunity to pioneer the new normal of financial transactions with an
ever expanding vendor base.”
The partnership is in line with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) ‘Rata Purama LANKAQR’
initiative promoting LANKAQR as the standard for mobile phone and digital payments across the
island, moving towards a cashless and digitally-savvy society with greater financial inclusion.
“We are excited to be a HNB SOLO vendor, working with the bank to facilitate a seamless
contactless and cashless payment option across our extensive customer base. We believe that
revolutionising consumer and transactional experiences is an important step towards innovation and
modernisation in Sri Lanka. As such we are happy to be a part of this journey of transformation with
HNB who has onboarded over 4,000 vendors to its extensive portfolio,” remarked Access Natural
Water (Pvt.) Ltd – Director / COO, Shanil Perera, said
As LANKAQR is a common Quick Response (QR) code standard developed by the CBSL, vendors
will no longer need multiple QR codes for different platforms. Users can make payments via
LANKAQR by scanning the code using SOLO. Upon completion, vendors will receive an instant SMS
notification, confirming the receipt of payment.
Having already linked LANKAQR to SOLO, HNB was among leading financial institutions and
telecommunication partners driving a cashless QR-code based payments revolution that aims to
make mobile phone payment apps and digital payments the standard for day-to-day transactions
islandwide.
The bank has continuously bolstered the features and functionality of its digital payment app HNB
SOLO while refining its user interface to make QR-based payments intuitive, easy to use and
versatile. SOLO also offers attractive promotions and rewards to its growing user base. Additionally,
the app can digitally store all payment instruments, including VISA, MASTER debit and credit cards,
and any bank account connected to the JustPay payment ecosystem.
LANKAQR enables banks, financial institutions and telcos to facilitate fast, secure and low-cost
digital payments to any merchant or service provider through their digital payment apps and
platforms. LANKAQR provides customers with a payment mechanism for all their needs ranging
from groceries, healthcare to utilities, and even the purchase of goods from street-side vendors,
directly from their bank account through the use of any LANKAQR-compliant mobile payment app.
Established in 2001, Aquafresh is the leader in Sri Lanka’s bottled water industry, and is the flagship
brand under Access Natural Water (Pvt.) Ltd, an associate company of the Access Group. The
brand has proven its leading position by always delivering pure and safe drinking water, and has also
been able to capture the international market with its high quality products.
With 252 customer centres across the country, HNB is one of Sri Lanka’s largest, most
technologically innovative banks having won local and global recognition for its efforts to drive
forward a new paradigm in digital banking. Over the recent past, the bank was ranked among the
World Top 1,000 Banks list compiled by the prestigious UK-based Banker Magazine. HNB has a
national rating of AA- (lka) by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd.
HNB was also declared Best Sub-Custodian Bank in Sri Lanka at the Global Finance Awards 2020.
The bank further won the Award for the Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka for the 11th time at the Asian
Banker Awards 2020, in recognition of its sustainable growth and continuous improvements in
processes, products and services amidst a challenging macroeconomic environment.
