Commercial Bank joins Bank Muscat Oman for instant money transfers

Instant, real-time fund transfers between Oman and Sri Lanka have become possible as a result of a tie-up between the Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Bank Muscat, the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate. Commercial Bank is the first Sri Lankan bank to link with Bank Muscat for this purpose. Account holders of Bank Muscat can now use the Bank’s all-new feature-rich mobile banking app to send cash remittances to recipients in Sri Lanka or transfer money to accounts at Commercial Bank 24/7. They may also transfer funds to accounts at other banks in Sri Lanka via Commercial Bank. “Commercial Bank was already a key facilitator of remittances to Sri Lanka from Oman,” the Bank’s Chief Manager e-Banking& Remittances Mr Pradeep Banduwansa said. “With this partnership with Bank Muscat, the remittances arrive in Sri Lanka instantly and become available to recipients within minutes.” Users of the Speed Transfer facility offered by Bank Muscat’s mBanking app can send up to 500 Omani Riyals a day to Sri Lanka. The app already has more than 350,000 registered users, including Omani nationals and expatriate account holders. Commercial Bank recently launched a similar instant funds transfer facility between Bahrain and Sri Lanka by integrating its web system with that of Bahrain Financing Co. (BFC), enabling real time remittances via BFC’s EzRemit service to beneficiaries in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is one of the most active players in Sri Lanka in the field of remittances, offering customers a range of options. Remitters can send money even without having an account in the Bank. The Bank has its own Business Promotion Officers (BPOs) in key markets around the world where significant numbers of Sri Lankans are employed. The only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for five consecutive years, Commercial Bank operates a network of 246 branches, and a network of 618 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The Bank was ranked the most valuable private sector brand in Sri Lanka in 2014 and has also won multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s best bank from a number of international publications over several years. The Bank was adjudged one of Sri Lanka’s 10 best corporate citizens by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in 2013 and 2014. Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 18 branches and Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon. In September 2015, the Bank received regulatory approval for the establishment of a fully-fledged Tier I Bank in the Republic of Maldives.