Singapore – Digital payments company Pomelo Pay (Pomelo), which has its regional HQ in Singapore, has announced a partnership with Dialog Axiata (Dialog), Sri Lanka’s premier telco, to consolidate and provide an enhanced payment platform for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka, helping them to digitalise and accept payments.
The partnership is in line with Pomelo’s plans to expand its global presence in Asia and Europe and will consolidate about 80,000 SME merchants across Dialog’s multiple platforms, including ezCash into a common payment platform Genie. These merchants will be able to send and receive payments securely and seamlessly via QR codes and track all their transactions within the same payment interface via their mobile or online.
The programme also goes in line with Dialog’s mission to champion financial inclusion for over 1 million businesses in Sri Lanka. SMEs in Sri Lanka account for more than 75% of the total number of enterprises attributing to 45% of employment and 52% of the country’s GDP, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka.
Vincent Choi, CEO of Pomelo, said, “SMEs in South and Southeast Asia face massive challenges in digitalising and accepting digital payments, and we believe that Pomelo can aid growth and adoption in these markets. We are honoured to collaborate with Dialog in their mission to champion financial inclusion in Sri Lanka by empowering over one million merchants with solutions to digitalise, as the country works towards a cashless society.”
Pomelo believes its entry into Sri Lanka is timely, where the firm’s enhanced payment platform will integrate with the national LANKAQR standard which will allow Dialog to offer its merchants a low-cost and seamless digital payment methods to opt for over traditional Point-of-Sales (POS) terminals.
in October 2020, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) introduced LANKAQR as a way for merchants, particularly SMEs, to initiate and accept payments using mobile devices.
Commenting on this partnership, Renuka Fernando, group chief digital services officer of Dialog Axiata, added, “We are excited to partner with Pomelo who has expertise in providing seamless and intuitive solutions to merchants globally. As Sri Lanka works towards a cashless society, Dialog is committed to empower and enrich Sri Lankan lives and businesses with accessible, inclusive and convenient digital solutions.”
