- HNB supports MSMEs and LANKAQR with SOLO Avurudu Pola
- Supports 450+ MSMEs with market access, through digital payments
- Promotes LANKAQR with exclusive discounts for SOLO users
Sri Lanka’s most customer friendly bank HNB PLC, partnered Micro, Medium and Small (MSME)
entrepreneurs across extensive merchant partner network to launch the HNB SOLO Avurudu Pola
promoting QR- based payments at eight key locations across the island.
Supporting the ‘Rata Purama LANKAQR’ campaign by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to
create a cashless payment eco-system, HNB offered exclusive discounts at trade fairs for the users
of its digital payment wallet SOLO,
Over450+ merchants showcased their products from vegetables and fruits to ayurvedic products,
flowers, handcrafts, electronic appliances, traditional sweet meats and brass products at Nugegoda,
Kottawa, Negombo, Hettipola, Matara, Nuwara Eliya, Bandarawela and Batticaloa from April 10 to
18, with strict adherence to health guidelines.
“The SOLO Avurudu Pola goes beyond the confines of a traditional trade fair or market as it opens
up a world of possibilities for HNB entrepreneurs, from strengthening their supply chains while
simultaneously moving towards a cashless payment system. As a bank with a long history of working
with MSMEs we are delighted to promote LANKAQR and empower these entrepreneurs to
compete in an increasingly digital economy,” HNB Deputy General Manager- Retail and SME
Banking, Sanjay Wijemanne said.
Launched in 2019, HNB’s flagship digital payments solution SOLO provides the convenience of digital
transactions via the adaptable QR code, a more cost effective option when compared to alternative
payment solutions available in the market.
Having linked LANKAQR to SOLO, HNB was among the first financial institutions driving a cashless
QR-code based payment revolution that aims to make mobile phones and digital payments the
standard for day-to-day transactions island-wide. Users can make payments via LANKAQR by
scanning the code using SOLO. Upon completion, merchants will receive an instant SMS notification,
confirming the receipt of payment.
The bank has continuously bolstered SOLO’s features and functionality while refining its user
interface to make QRbased payments intuitive, easy to use, and versatile. The app can digitally store all payment instruments, including Visa, Master debit and credit cards, and any bank accounts
connected to the JustPay payment ecosystem.
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, in
addition to winning the coveted Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka Award 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.
