National QR Payment Promotion Programme Launched
07-Apr-2026.
Marking a new milestone in Sri Lanka’s digital economy, the National QR Payment Promotion Programme was officially launched on April 6 at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
With effect from April 6, the service charge levied on merchants for all LankaPay transactions up to Rs. 5,000 has been completely removed. Under the new system, facilities have also been introduced to enable easy person-to-person money transfers anytime and from anywhere.
The main objective of this initiative is to steer Sri Lanka towards an economy with reduced dependence on coins and currency notes. Accordingly, financial institutions have taken steps to abolish merchant service charges for all LankaPay transactions up to Rs. 5,000 with immediate effect. This move enables small-scale traders to accept digital payments without any additional cost.
Sri Lanka currently possesses a strong digital financial infrastructure, with 89% of the adult population having access to banking facilities. A system capable of handling 68 million transactions worth Rs. 6.3 trillion per quarter is already in place. The LankaPay network, supported by over 20 financial institutions, is currently accepted at 450,000 merchant outlets.
However, currency notes worth Rs. 1.48 trillion remain in circulation. As of the third quarter of 2025, transactions carried out via LankaPay remained at a low level of approximately Rs. 395,000 per month. To bridge this gap, several special strategies are to be implemented under the programme.
In addition, a special prize draw scheme will be introduced for both customers and merchants to promote QR usage. Under this scheme, the top three weekly and monthly winners will stand a chance to win prizes worth up to Rs. 1,000,000.
To ensure the success of the initiative, national-level awareness campaigns in Sinhala, Tamil and English were launched yesterday. Transparency and fairness are to be ensured through a “Social Digital Index” developed covering all 25 districts.
The programme is not merely a technological initiative, but a key component of a national plan aimed at digitalising the country’s future payment system and transforming it into an inclusive economy. Through the expansion of QR payments, the Government expects to promote a faster, safer and more transparent digital transaction culture, ensuring every citizen becomes a participant in the digital economy regardless of location or language.
Speaking at the launch, the President noted that although Sri Lankan society has a strong transactional culture, the country has still not succeeded in shifting that connection from the old paper-based systems to a modern digital framework. He urged all banks and financial institutions to cooperate in achieving the Government’s targets by supporting this new, efficient and user-friendly programme.
Those present at the event included Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Affairs Engineer Eranga Weeraratne, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Senior Presidential Advisor on Digital Economy Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Ministry Secretaries, and heads of banks and financial institutions.
