Remittances through post offices
The Postal Department is discussing with a remittance service and a private commercial bank to introduce remittance services in postal outlets.
The Department operates some 650 post offices and 3,500 sub-post offices islandwide.
The service providers with whom the Department is having discussions are Western Union (WU) Money Transfer Service and DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB).
Posts Minister Mahinda Wijesekera speaking at the Postal Department Hqrs., Bldg., on Wednesday said that the necessary space available for such banking operations will be rented out to them.
The Minister said that the Department made a Rs. 2.3 billion loss last year. Its expenditure this year is forecast at Rs. eight billion, and next year, Rs. 10 billion.
“Such steps will help us to mitigate such losses through the rent income received,” said Wijesekera.
The Department has some 19,000 employees.
At present, still the main types of remittance service in the country are the traditional telegraphic transfer systems and bank drafts which are costly, WU Sri Lanka Marketing Manager Imran Carim told The Sunday Leader.
The Postal Department also has a tie-up with HSBC for credit card settlements.
“We will be negotiating with other banks, to get them also into this scheme,” Posts Ministry Secretary W.M. Piyasena told The Sunday Leader.
He said that the Department was talking to Moratuwa University and Dialog Telekom for networking of their branches and utility bills settlements, by the consumer making use of the Department’s islandwide postal network to make those payments which will be transmitted electronically.
The Postal Department is discussing with a remittance service and a private commercial bank to introduce remittance services in postal outlets.
The Department operates some 650 post offices and 3,500 sub-post offices islandwide.
The service providers with whom the Department is having discussions are Western Union (WU) Money Transfer Service and DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB).
Posts Minister Mahinda Wijesekera speaking at the Postal Department Hqrs., Bldg., on Wednesday said that the necessary space available for such banking operations will be rented out to them.
The Minister said that the Department made a Rs. 2.3 billion loss last year. Its expenditure this year is forecast at Rs. eight billion, and next year, Rs. 10 billion.
“Such steps will help us to mitigate such losses through the rent income received,” said Wijesekera.
The Department has some 19,000 employees.
At present, still the main types of remittance service in the country are the traditional telegraphic transfer systems and bank drafts which are costly, WU Sri Lanka Marketing Manager Imran Carim told The Sunday Leader.
The Postal Department also has a tie-up with HSBC for credit card settlements.
“We will be negotiating with other banks, to get them also into this scheme,” Posts Ministry Secretary W.M. Piyasena told The Sunday Leader.
He said that the Department was talking to Moratuwa University and Dialog Telekom for networking of their branches and utility bills settlements, by the consumer making use of the Department’s islandwide postal network to make those payments which will be transmitted electronically.
