Unveiled during a special ceremony at the inauguration of the Sri Lanka Fintech Summit 2025, the launch event was attended by top representatives of the Sri Lankan Government, and respected fintech experts from across the globe.
"We congratulate HNB and Visa for supporting our vision of repositioning Sri Lanka as a global leader in fintech and digital payments.
Such initiatives have the potential to transform the grassroots of the Sri Lankan economy, helping entrepreneurs from across the island to transact digitally.
This in turn generates fresh opportunities for MSMEs, and widens participation in our nation's emerging digital economy," Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne said.
This new world-first capability is built on the Visa Accept platform, requires no extra hardware, and is expected to radically expand affordable access to digital payment acceptance for all Sri Lankans, including MSMEs, home-based entrepreneurs, and women-led businesses.
“For many decades, HNB has stood out as a champion of change.
Having been one of the first Sri Lankan banks to embrace digital transformation, we have invested diligently in bolstering our tech-infrastructure.
The launch of HNB Accept marks another defining moment in this journey, and promises to transform how Sri Lanka embraces digital commerce.
By enabling any mobile phone with secure payment acceptance device, we are extending the reach of the financial system to the smallest enterprises and entrepreneurs.
At scale, we believe such innovations will removes barriers to financial inclusion and entrepreneurship, in turn enhancing resilience at every level of the economy," HNB MD/CEO, Damith Pallewatte said.
With HNB Accept, eligible HNB Visa debit or prepaid customers can activate a seller profile in minutes within the HNB Mobile Banking App and start accepting digital payments via Tap-to-Phone or Pay-by-Link.
Transactions are processed over Visa’s network with funds settled in near real time, while built-in thresholds and authentication help manage risk for both sellers and customers.
“Visa Accept is built to empower micro-merchants and home-based businesses by removing the traditional barriers to digital commerce.
By embedding the solution into HNB’s trusted mobile banking platform, we are able to make acceptance simple, secure, and scalable,” noted Avanthi Colombage, Country Manager, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Visa.
“This launch reflects our confidence in Sri Lanka as a hub for innovation and in HNB’s leadership in delivering financial technology to the market.”
All transactions on HNB Accept will be processed over Visa’s network with settlement typically in near real time, giving sellers prompt access to earnings.
Pre-set transaction and value thresholds, together with strong authentication, help manage risk and maintain a secure, scalable acceptance environment.
For micro-merchants operating on tight cash cycles, this combination of immediacy and verification can be decisive — often the difference between sustaining day-to-day operations and scaling.
Photo caption : Senior representatives from HNB and VISA together with Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne, at the Sri Lanka FinTech Summit during the global launch of VISA Accept: Ramakrishnan Gopalan – Chief Product Officer, India and South Asia (VISA); Abhishek Vats – Senior Director, Consumer Solutions, VISA AP; Avanthi Colombage – Country Manager for Sri Lanka & Maldives (VISA); Gauthami Niranjan – Vice President – Cards, HNB; Damith Pallewatte – Managing Director/CEO, HNB; Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne; and Sanjay Wijemanne – COO, HNB.