People’s Bank recently entered into a partnership with the Central Cultural Fund (CCF), which falls under the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, to provide an e-ticketing solution to be deployed at major tourist attractions in Sri Lanka.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the partnership was inked and exchanged between the two institutions in the presence of People’s Bank Chairman Sujeewa Rajapakse and Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Hon. Vidura Wickramanayaka at an event held at People’s Bank Head Office, Colombo 02 on 16th September 2022.
Secretary of Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Somarathne Vidanapathirana, Director General of Archeology, Prof. Anura Manathunga, Director General of the Central Cultural Fund Prof. Gamini Ranasinghe and officials of CCF with the Board of Directors of People’s bank, Acting CEO and GM of People’s Bank, K.B. Rajapakse with corporate management members of People’s Bank were also present.
The state-of-the-art solution will be designed, developed, hosted, and maintained by the People’s Bank in response to a request made by the CCF. The new system will not only streamline the entire process but also will enable tourists to see the heritage sites virtually prior to visiting Sri Lanka. While providing the CCF with the opportunity to generate much-needed foreign currency and simplify internal processes, the solution also underscores the People’s Bank’s standing as the leader in digitalisation in Sri Lanka’s banking industry.
The multilingual web-based solution will provide a web app for purchasing tickets and Mobile apps for CCF for ticket verification. With the Internet Payment Gateway and Payment Solution integrated into the system, a variety of payment methods can be used for the payments. The solution will include the Ticket Servicing Module for the Admin and a Tour Agent Portal for authorised users. The Web App will also provide a virtual tour of the heritage sites using Augmented Reality (AR) and a marketplace for purchasing souvenirs and publications online.
Central Cultural Fund is the principal heritage management institution in Sri Lanka where they mainly generate income through ticket sales to tourists who visit the many sites under the CCF including Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura and many others.