“For the first time in Sri Lanka, millions can tap and pay with Google Pay, as Commercial Bank opens the door to a faster, safer, smartphone powered future in digital finance.”
Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has marked a historic national milestone as the first Sri Lankan bank to collaborate with Google and Visa to activate Google Pay for its cardholders as part of the Google Wallet launch. This moment represents a major leap in Sri Lanka’s digital payments landscape, redefining what secure, convenient, and globally aligned financial transactions look like for consumers and businesses.
Commercial Bank remains the only bank in Sri Lanka currently offering Google Pay access to its Visa cardholders, giving them an exclusive first mover advantage. This partnership merges Visa’s worldwide network and advanced tokenization technology with Google’s secure and intuitive platform and Commercial Bank’s strong digital banking ecosystem. Together, they deliver a world class mobile payment experience designed for speed, safety, and ease of use.
Commercial Bank customers who hold Visa debit or credit cards can now add their cards to Google Wallet with a simple verification process using an OTP or call center confirmation. Once added, customers can pay securely using their NFC enabled Android smartphones at any contactless Visa supported POS terminal, both locally and internationally. Physical cards and cash become optional as tap and pay becomes the new standard for smart, seamless, and secure transactions.
To deliver this innovation with maximum protection, Commercial Bank partnered with IDEMIA for tokenization, using Visa’s Token Service VTS. Tokenization offers strong fraud prevention by replacing the real 16 digit card number with a unique digital token, ensuring card details are never exposed to merchants or stored on user devices. The bank also utilized Euronet’s payment infrastructure for the launch, ensuring stable and reliable processing for every Google Pay transaction.
Managing Director and CEO Sanath Manatunge said that working with Google and Visa represents a major strategic victory in Commercial Bank’s mission to elevate Sri Lanka’s digital payment experience. He emphasized that as the largest private sector bank in the country, embracing global innovations like tokenization strengthens the bank’s commitment to secure, contactless, and future ready financial services. He added that this collaboration accelerates the country’s shift toward a highly efficient, technology driven financial ecosystem.
Visa’s Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Avanthi Colombage, described the launch as a transformative moment for Sri Lankan consumers. She said that Visa, Google, and Commercial Bank together are delivering not just another payment method but a faster and safer digital lifestyle. Their combined strengths ensure widespread convenience, unmatched digital security, and interoperability at national scale.
The rollout of Google Pay will begin with selected card ranges under a phased release plan. Commercial Bank, widely recognized as Sri Lanka’s largest private bank and a pioneer in digital innovation, continues to invest in next generation payment technologies and tokenization systems to build trust, increase adoption, and support the country’s digital transformation journey.
