The NCS Group (www.ncs.com.sg) has successfully implemented a Mobile Banker System which enables Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank and The Finance Co to offer banking and financial services to their customers, wherever they are. Seylan Bank and The Finance Co are subsidiaries of Ceylinco Consolidated, one of the largest business conglomerates in Sri Lanka.

With the new system, customers of both Seylan Bank and The Finance Co now have the choice of conducting banking and financial transactions at home or at the work place instead of going to a branch or automated teller machine.

The system revolutionises the way banking and financial transactions are conducted, especially in developing countries where customers in villages may need to take hours to commute from home to a nearby branch for banking or financial services. It also provides the bank and the finance company with a new channel that can be used to expand their customer base and enhance loyalty.

Dr Kotelawala: The Mobile Banker System offers new business opportunities.

Under a contract awarded in January 2007, NCS is responsible for the design, development and implementation of the Mobile Banker System. Ready in less than 10 months, the system is now being rolled out in phases across Sri Lanka.

The Mobile Banker System enables the business development officers of Seylan Bank and The Finance Co to carry out secure banking and financial transactions on the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). The officers will be equipped with a PDA and a small portable printing device. They can perform functions such as cash and cheque deposits, cash withdrawal, remittance disbursement, loan application and account opening at this stage.

The officer will also be able to retrieve relevant customer information to better understand the customer’s total relationship with the bank or the finance company. If a customer wishes to apply for a loan, the business development officer can submit the loan application electronically, and the system will perform customer credit checking. Once the customer creditworthiness is ascertained, he will be able to provide an in-principle approval to the customer on the spot.

The system is built on NCS’ iConnect.Net Framework based on Microsoft.Net platform, and uses wireless technology to update information like the account balance real time. NCS’ solution also incorporates multi-level security features such as stringent encryption, authentication and E-signature.

Deshamanya Dr Lalith Kotelawala, Chairman of Ceylinco Consolidated, noted that the group is the first in Sri Lanka to roll out the Mobile Banker System for its financial institutions. “It offers new business opportunities as it is a means to reach the mass market. With the system, customers need not have to travel to the bank for a loan. The new system will cut cost and build greater relations between our customers and us,” he said.

“We are harnessing the market potential of wireless applications, and in doing so, we can deliver the kind of convenience and value-added services that are most important to consumers in today’s competitive market,” he added.