Western union wu cash to account was introduced in

Western Union (WU) Cash to Account
was introduced in 2020 and is yet another
example of how the pandemic acted as a
catalyst for the technological progress of the
Bank. WU Cash to Account was introduced
during the lockdown period in the first half
of the year to permit customers to claim WU
cash remittances without visiting branch
counters. Since then it has seen significant
growth.
WhatsApp Banking
The Bank launched its WhatsApp banking
solution in December 2020, and this
product represents perhaps the easiest and
fastest form of mobile banking. By sending
a simple ‘Hi’ to a designated WhatsApp
number, the user will receive a simple set
of instructions on how to access several
services including viewing account balance
and account history, requesting a cheque
book, information about fixed deposits,
housing loans, and foreign exchange rates,
and self-registration with ComBank Digital.
Another crucial feature of this product is the
ability for potential customers to complete
registration to open a new account with

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC
Annual Report 2020
56
Management Discussion and Analysis
Leading Through Innovation
the Flash app. This product is positioned
as a simple pathway to the world of digital
banking for customers that can subsequently
lead to deeper and more sustained forms of
digital engagement. Within just six weeks of
use, the app has had 8,167 new registrations
and 35,411 total transactions.
ePassbook
The Bank upgraded its ePassbook app to
include features like self-registration, real-
time transaction notifications, and biometric
login, significantly increasing the flexibility of
account management, user-autonomy and
convenience. The app, which was introduced
in 2016, was the first Digital Passbook in the
Sri Lankan banking industry and remains the
only mobile application of its genre to date.
Process Improvements
While the Bank’s efforts were concentrated
on responding to the contingent and shifting
situation brought about by the pandemic,
it introduced several new automated
processes focused on building robust
back-end digital processes. Noteworthy
developments include:
z
Introduction of e-slips for cash and
cheque deposits improved the customer
turn-around time and also increased the
accuracy.
z
Through centralisation of Transfer Cheque
process, the Bank managed to reduce
operational cost through staff reduction
at branches and improve the operating
efficiency by speeding up the process.
z
The automation of Post-Dated Cheque
handling process , through which the Bank
managed to increase the efficiency of a
normally cumbersome process.
z
Launched the Bank’s first ever Hyper
Automation project to fully automate the
User ID Management of the Bank using
IBM BAW (Business Automation Workflow)
and IBM RPA (Robotic Process Automation).