People's Bank recently entered into a partnership with the Central Cultural Fund (CCF), which falls under the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, to provide an e-Ticketing Solution to be deployed at major tourist attractions in Sri Lanka.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the partnership was inked and exchanged between the two institutions in the presence of People’s Bank Chairman Sujeewa Rajapakse and Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Hon. Vidura Wickramanayaka at an event held at People’s Bank Head Office, Colombo 02 on 16th September 2022.
Somarathne Vidanapathirana – Secretary of Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Prof. Anura Manathunga – Director General of Archeology, Prof. Gamini Ranasinghe - Director General of the Central Cultural Fund and the other officials of CCF with the Board of Directors of People’s bank and K.B. Rajapakse - Acting CEO/GM of People’s Bank with the other corporate management members of People’s Bank were also present at the occasion.
The state-of-the-art solution will be designed, developed, hosted, and maintained by People’s Bank in response to a request made by the CCF. The new system will not only streamline the entire process but also will enable tourists to see the heritage sites virtually prior to visiting Sri Lanka. While providing the CCF with the opportunity to generate much-needed foreign currency and simplify internal processes, the solution also underscores the People’s Bank’s standing as the leader in digitalization in Sri Lanka’s banking industry.
The multi-lingual web-based solution will provide a Web app for purchasing tickets and Mobile apps for CCF for ticket verification. With the Internet Payment Gateway and Payment Solution integrated into the system, a variety of payment methods can be used for the payments. The solution will include the Ticket Servicing Module for the Admin and a Tour Agent Portal for authorized users. The Web App will also provide a virtual tour of the heritage sites using Augmented Reality (AR) and a marketplace for purchasing souvenirs and publications online.
Central Cultural Fund is the principal heritage management institution in Sri Lanka where they mainly generate income through ticket sales to tourists who visit the many sites under the CCF including Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura and many others. For example, Sigiriya alone is visited by 2,000 to 3,000 tourists daily. CCF expects to further increase the tourist visits to these sites by offering them greater convenience and an enhanced experience, thus generating much needed foreign currency for the country.
People’s Bank, known as the Pride of the Nation, is the country’s premiere licensed commercial bank with Sri Lanka’s largest banking footprint comprising of 743 branches and service centers island wide. With a history spanning 61 years, the Bank serves more than 14 million customers maintaining 19 million account relationships which is by far the largest customer base for any financial services provider in the country.