It started with a challenge.
Can I, a young professional working and living in Colombo, survive an entire week without cash or a physical wallet relying entirely on mobile wallets and QR codes for every single payment?
At first, the idea sounded easy. After all, Colombo isn’t new to fintech. LankaQR, contactless cards, and mobile wallet applications and the payment platforms of the various banks have been gaining traction. Digital optimism doesn’t always meet up with reality I discovered soon.
Day 1: First day optimism offered a smooth start
I started my journey at a famous coffee shop in Colombo 7. When I asked to make payment through QR, the barista smiled. A neatly printed LankaQR code stood at the counter.
“Use any app,” he said. I opened my mobile wallet, scanned the QR code, entered the amount and just like that I went cashless.
Later, I took a PickMe to work and made a seamless payment through the app.
During lunch, instead of splitting the bill in cash, I sent my share via digital wallet.
My friends looked mildly amused, but the whole process was smooth and effortless.
On the first day,I felt hopeful — Colombo was ready for a cashless revolution.
Day 2: The kade wall
On a whim, I visited my local kade to get necessities such as eggs, biscuits and bread. I pointed to the QR sticker.
“Ah, that? It’s just there. I haven’t set it up properly,” the shopkeeper admitted.
So, I did what every Sri Lankan does at that moment: I walked to the nearest ATM. My experiment hit its first real-world speed bump. Though infrastructure has been created, not enough education or onboarding is done yet.
Day 3: The mall mirage
I went to a mall in Colombo that a lot of people go to because I thought the bigger retailers would be more cashless. Many stores still needed either card or cash, to my surprise. The only one with a working LankaQR option worked with only one app.
The much-touted interoperability? Still patchy in practice.
A shopper at a local convenience store said to the cashier, “Mama Mobile App Eka Use Karanawa, Habai QR eka dannenaha.” (“I use an app, but I don’t understand this QR thing.”)
Clearly, awareness lags behind availability.
Day 4: Street food with a digital touch
I was feeling hungry so I went to a street shop near Bambalapitiya. To my surprise, his cart had a QR code taped to the side.
“Me eka wadakaranawa de?” I asked.
(“Does this actually work?”).
“Works fine, sah. Most office people use it now,” he smiled.
While enjoying some kottu under the streetlight, I realised the promise of digital payments at that moment. Fintech is embedding itself into sectors of life you least expect.
Day 5: Transport and the digital dead end
The real challenge came with public transport. Could I take a bus or train cash-free?
Sadly, no. Buses, trains and even intercity services in Sri Lanka still use cash tickets. We did not see a QR code, a card machine, or anything digital. This remains a major barrier to a fully cashless lifestyle.
Day 6: Reactions from family and trust gap
At lunch, I paid the bill with my phone. My parents looked on curiously.
“Putha, Eka hari risky ne?” my father asked.
(“Son, That’s risky, isn’t it?”).
I said two-factor authentication, encrypted transactions and real-time spending alerts. But their concern was genuine. Many in their generation link physical money to control and digital platforms to uncertainty.
Trust is still the final frontier.
Day 7: Benefits
I paid with a mobile wallet 23 times by the end of the week. I faced seven instances where digital payments could not be made or were impractical.
Yet, the promise is real.
Every successful scan felt like a tiny step forward. The important questions are not whether the technology works (it does) but whether.
Are vendors trained to accept it?
Do consumers trust it?
Is the system consistent across regions and sectors?
Final thoughts
It is possible to spend a week without money in Colombo but only to some extent. Although QR codes and mobile payments are supported in many shops and services in urban areas, deficiencies are still observed in public transport, informal trade and user confidence.
We’re sort of in the transitional phase of digital wallets not being a must-have yet, but no longer a novelty. The good news? We’re moving in the right direction.
As LankaQR grows in size and Sri Lankans become used to mobile money, that day when “cashless” becomes just “normal” may not be too far away.
Until then, keep your wallet… But it won’t hurt to keep your QR app close!
The writer is Head of Marketing at CrossBorder Payments (Pvt) Limited
