Sampath Bank bags two Gold Awards at National ICT Awards – NBQSA 2022

In recognition of Sampath Bank’s outstanding commitment toward the development of ICT products and services, the financial institution recently secured two Gold Awards at the 24th National Best Quality ICT Awards (NBQSA) 2022, surpassing leading ICT organisations in the country.

At a gala ceremony held recently at Monarch Imperial, Sampath Bank clinched the Overall Gold Award and the Gold Award under the ‘Banking, Insurance & Finance in Consumer’ category of NBQSA 2022.

This win comes due to Sampath Bank’s introduction of its revolutionary Sampath Bank iPIN, the latest trend introduced by the Bank to self-onboard to the Sampath Vishwa online banking platform, avoiding the hassles associated with the same in the past. Through Sampath iPIN, customers can register for Sampath Vishwa using only their Debit Card PIN from the comfort of their home.

Sampath Bank iPIN also adds additional security layers for the onboarding process with the secured virtual PIN with dynamic key arrangements. This results in significant time and paper savings for the Bank and the customer, eliminating a significant amount of back-office work.

Speaking on this win for the Bank, Ajith Salgado – Chief Information Officer, Sampath Bank PLC said, “Sampath Bank has always maintained its position as the Bank that introduces ‘firsts’ to the industry as a whole. Awards such as these in recognition of our efforts go a long way for us, as they serve as a catalyst to become more innovative and creative with our solutions. Our in-house IT team and all others involved in this project must be recognised for their efforts. Without them, we would not have secured this prestigious award.”

Further commenting on the victory, Pasan Manukith – Assistant General Manager, Information Technology stated, “Enhancing user experience and providing products with industry leading security features is a challenge on its own. The bank has once again proven that its solutions deliver the best in both aspects.”

NBQSA is the most prestigious competition in Sri Lanka’s ICT industry and recognises outstanding achievements by individuals and organisations who develop ICT products and services. Viewed as the number one national level ICT competition in the Sri Lankan IT industry, the competition also provides a window for those individuals and organisations to receive international recognition for local ICT products and services. NBQSA is organised by the Sri Lankan section of the British Computer Society (BCSSL), the chartered institute for IT, a leading professional society in the field of computers and information systems.

Sampath Bank is a 100% local bank that has deeply rooted itself in the lives of the people of Sri Lanka. Established in 1987, the bank has become a state-of-the-art financial institution that continues to be a market leader today thanks to its constant innovation and customer focused approach to business. It has introduced many firsts to the Sri Lankan banking sector including introducing ATMs to Sri Lanka, extended banking hours, slip-less banking and adaptation of block-chain technology to name a few. As part of its visionary 2022 approach, the bank is steadily transforming itself into a ‘tech company engaged in banking,’ from the traditional approach of a bank adopting technology.

From Left to Right: Sanharsha Jayatissa – Chairman, NBQSA 2022, Thushantha Sumithrarachchi – Chief Manager – Systems & Procedures, Sampath Bank PLC, Manjula Godevithanage – Manager – Systems Administration, Sampath Bank PLC, Nuwan Wickramanayake – Chief Manager – IT-EDP, Sampath Bank PLC, Vajeendra S. Kandegamage – Chairman, Executive Committee of BCS Sri Lanka Section, Lucy Ireland – Managing Director, BCS learning & Development, Pasan Manukith – AGM – IT, Sampath Bank PLC, Ajith Salgado – Chief Information Officer, Sampath Bank PLC, D. Kumaratunge – Assistant Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, M. G. Tillekeratne – Member, Executive Committee, BCS Sri Lanka Section), Kamal Ekanayake – Manager – Digital Banking, Sampath Bank PLC, Manula Nanayakkara – System Administrator, Sampath Bank PLC, Kasun Perera – Business Analyst, Sampath Bank PLC.