State banking giant People’s Bank recently passed a milestone in bringing more than 400 banking outlets, including 200 of its branches and 218 of its service centers, under one linked system. A part of the Bank’s IT strategy to bring its entire network under one system, this expansion marks an important step in offering increased customer convenience in both financial decision-making and everyday banking. This system is backed by the technology of various communications service providers, an internationally-accepted core-banking package through Silverlake, and the IT expertise of the IT staff of People’s Bank.

The online real time nature of this linkage will offer customers the opportunity to conduct their financial transactions from most parts of the island, through any of these connected service points. The days of having to visit one particular branch or service center are thus becoming outdated. Customers in rural areas will also undoubtedly find this a great convenience, in saving time, energy and money spent on visiting a branch or service center in another part of the country. This facility is further strengthened by the ATM network of People’s Bank that is nearing 250 in number. While fast moving towards forming a single network of linked branches, People’s Bank is also launching many innovative services.

Dr. D. N. D. Ramanayake, Head of IT at People’s Bank stated that as the Bank with the largest branch and service center network of 638, People’s Bank is indeed offering rich functionality to the masses by bringing all these service points under one linked system, making online real time banking a reality to most people in Sri Lanka. He went on to add, “We have already launched our palm top banking system, and plan to introduce SMS and internet banking in the near future as well. We plan to be a truly connected bank, taking the Bank to the doorsteps of our more than 10mn-strong customer base”

Mr. M. Wickramasinghe, Chief Executive Officer/General Manager, People’s Bank said, “At People’s Bank, we always hold customer convenience and increased levels of efficiency to be key concepts in all our innovations and value additions. A single linked system as this, is another way in which we have put the needs of the customer to the forefront.” As the Bank of the aspiring people of Sri Lanka, it is a crucial undertaking to unite technology and banking, thus increasing the quality of products and services and supporting the people achieve their goals.