Sri Lanka’s Comm Bank opens money transfer from Italy

Nov 28, 2016 (LBO) - Commex Sri Lanka, a fully-owned subsidiary of Commercial Bank of Ceylon, has inaugurated its money transfer operation in Italy, following the grant of a money transfer licence from the Bank of Italy. The bank said Commex Sri Lanka of Via Giacomo Leopardi, Rome, incorporated and registered in Italy under the supervision of the Bank of Italy, had received the necessary regulatory approvals from both countries to engage in fund transfers on its own from a market that generates an estimated 3 billion rupees in remittances to Sri Lanka per month. “The company was incorporated for that purpose, recognising the potential in Italy for remittance services to Sri Lanka,” Jegan Durairatnam, managing director/chief executive, Commercial Bank said.

"The Bank plans over time to open branches in other Italian cities with high potential for money transfer services to Sri Lanka." Italy is one of the biggest markets for Sri Lankan migrants with an estimated 150,000 Sri Lankans living and working there. The monthly value of fund inflows to the country from Italy is in the region of about 3 billion rupees. Commercial Bank is the first Sri Lankan bank to open a company in Italy for money transfer operations. The Bank has also tied up with international money transfer services Ria and MoneyGram offering Sri Lankan expatriates additional ways ofremitting their earnings to Sri Lanka, supplementing the services already offered through its own money transfer product e Exchange. "The tie up with MoneyGram and Ria permits remittances to all parts of the world through Commex.

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