Digital payments company Pomelo announced a partnership with Dialog Axiata PLC (Dialog), Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, 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.
This programme to empower SMEs underpins Dialog’s ambition to champion financial inclusion for over 1 million businesses in Sri Lanka. SMEs in Sri Lanka are the backbone of the economy and account for more than 75% of the total number of enterprises attributing to 45% employment and 52% of the country’s gross domestic production (GDP).
Sri Lanka is also home to a burgeoning digital economy estimated at USD3.47 billion, or about 4.37% of GDP as of October 2021. Given Sri Lanka’s move to encourage more cashless transactions, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) introduced LANKAQR in October 2020 as a way for merchants, particularly SMEs, to initiate and accept payments using mobile devices. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 273,044 merchants have adopted LANKAQR for their businesses.
Pomelo’s 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 which requires them to commit to recurring fees. The country is home to 88,871 POS terminals currently in use at the end of the third quarter of 2021.
This shift in payment method will eventually allow merchants to become e-commerce ready, digitalise with ease and offer more payment options, including LANKAQR, to their customers.
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.”
Commenting on this partnership, Renuka Fernando, Group Chief Digital Services Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC 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.”
About Pomelo
Pomelo offers Payment Platform as a Service (PPaaS) with ready-to-use payment rails, intuitive merchant services and access to the latest financial technology to help financial institutions and enterprises drive payment efficiencies across the financial ecosystem, ultimately benefiting merchants and customers. Founded in 2017, Pomelo began by helping businesses digitise their payment infrastructure and take payments from anyone, anywhere at a low cost and without the need for expensive point-of-sale hardware. It continues to provide these solutions directly to businesses in the UK as Pomelo. Headquartered in London, Pomelo has a regional headquarter in Singapore and a swift expanding presence across Asia and Europe. In November 2021, Pomelo raised US$10 million in Series A led by Inference Partners.
For more information,please visit www.pomelogroup.com.
About Dialog Axiata
Dialog Axiata Group, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata), operates Sri Lanka’s Leading Quad-Play Connectivity Provider. Dialog Axiata PLC, listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, supplements its market leading position in the Mobile Telecommunications sector with a robust footprint and market presence in Sri Lanka’s Fixed Telecommunications, Digital Pay Television, and Financial Services markets through its subsidiaries, Dialog Broadband Networks (Private) Limited (DBN), Dialog Television (Private) Limited (DTV), Digital Holdings Lanka (Private) Limited, and Dialog Finance PLC. Dialog Axiata Group is Sri Lanka's largest Foreign Direct Investor (FDI) with investments totalling USD 2.8 Billion.
Dialog has been at the forefront of innovation and digitisation in the mobile industry in Sri Lanka since the late 90’s, propelling the nation’s mobile telephony infrastructure to a level of advancement on par with the developed world. The Company delivers advanced mobile telephony and high speed mobile broadband services to a subscriber base of over 17 Million Sri Lankans, via 2.5G and 3G/3.5G and 4G/4.5G networks, and in December 2018, Dialog showcased the first 5G pilot transmission in South Asia.
The winner of six Global Mobile Awards, Dialog has the distinction of being voted by Sri Lankan Consumers as the ‘Service Brand of the Year’ and ‘Youth Choice – Service Brand of the Year’ for the second consecutive year, and the ‘Telecommunication Brand of the Year’ for a record tenth year at the SLIM People’s Awards 2021. The Company was also awarded ‘Sri Lanka's Most Valuable Brand’ for the Third Consecutive Year and ‘Most Valuable Telecommunications Brand’ for the 14th consecutive year in the Brand Finance league table. Dialog is an ISO 9001 certified Company and the first Quad-play Telco in South Asia to receive the ISO 14001:2015 certification. Dialog has received numerous local and international awards, including the National Quality Award and the Sri Lanka Business Excellence Award.
For more information, please visit: https://www.dialog.lk/
