Look around, and it seems like the digital world is everywhere, from the widespread use of social media to people’s dependence on their smartphones. In Sri Lanka, businesses don’t offer services in the digital economy as the widespread online presence of people there might suggest. More business activity moving to the digital realm has shown to have several benefits, like lowering the costs of services, enabling services to reach previously untapped sections of the population, and generally contributing to improving the lives of people.
For a digital economy to thrive, it requires a layer of digital public infrastructure (DPI) to enable its operations and connect people to government and to businesses. The government has announced that the legislation for and procurement of critical pieces of the digital public infrastructure are ongoing. These include the digital identity project and national data exchange. DPI is public by design: built by the state as a common good but open for private innovation to build upon. Typically, one of the first benefits of updated DPI will be the ease with which digital payments can be made.
When digital payments can be made easily, it has the effect of improving access to credit for small businesses and helping micro-entrepreneurs formalise and expand. India’s experience with UPI (Unified Payments Interface), a mobile-first real-time payments system, shows how powerful the combination can be when digital public infrastructure is in place and widely used. Once the DPI is established, the main challenge will become adoption. People don’t use new tech unless it is seamless and there is a clear benefit to using it.
Fintech companies can provide the services that make digital service adoption possible. In September, the Fintech Summit 2025 will discuss the challenges to the wide adoption of digital services in Sri Lanka. As the country eyes a $15 billion digital economy by 2030, this summit is being positioned as a landmark platform to unite key stakeholders, banks, regulators, innovators, and investors in one place. Here, some of the key shapers of Sri Lanka’s digital economy discuss its challenges and potential.
Aligning Infrastructure to Unlock the Digital Economy
Technology on its own is never enough. Adoption depends on trust, usability, value, and regulation must be proportionate to context so that fintechs can innovate without introducing systemic risks. Hans Wijayasuriya, a former telecom executive and now an advisor to the President on the digital economy, describes its benefits.
What infrastructure is required for the digital economy in Sri Lanka?
When we think of the digital economy, it helps to see it as three levels. The first is the foundation: connectivity, cloud computing, and storage. These are the pipes and servers that carry the flow. Without strong infrastructure, everything else sits on shaky ground.
“The second level is digital public infrastructure. This is where the state plays a central role by providing common rails such as digital ID, a national data exchange, and interoperable payment systems.”
The second level is digital public infrastructure. This is where the state plays a central role by providing common rails such as digital ID, a national data exchange, and interoperable payment systems. These rails must be public goods. They are owned by the state but designed to be open, secure, and available to banks and fintechs alike. When done well, they remove duplication and lower the cost of entry for innovators.
The third level is the platform layer. Here, open APIs and microservice marketplaces allow fintechs and developers to create solutions at speed. If the rails are trusted and accessible, innovators can focus on solving real problems for consumers and businesses, rather than rebuilding basic infrastructure each time.
When these three levels align, you create both trust and opportunity. Citizens feel safe to transact digitally, and fintechs can scale their ideas in an environment that is secure, affordable, and inclusive. That is how Sri Lanka can unlock a digital economy that works for everyone.
Building Trust and Adoption Through Digital Identity and Public Infrastructure
Eranga Weeraratne, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister for the Digital Economy, has been tasked with steering policy. He says the state must act as both architect and catalyst: setting up the key infrastructure, building trust, and then enabling private players to innovate on top. Sri Lanka is seeking to transition more from a cash-heavy, fragmented payments system to one that is digitally connected and inclusive. Digital payments are often a cornerstone of a digital economy.
What is Digital Public Infrastructure? And what is the government’s role in building DPI?
DPI is public by design. It is owned by the state but left open for private innovation to build upon. It is more than servers; it is the applications that drive the economy—like digital ID, driver’s licences, health databases, and payment platforms that others can plug into.
“DPI is public by design. It is owned by the state but left open for private innovation to build upon.”
A critical unlock is electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC). Without it, merchant onboarding is slow and costly, which holds back digital payments. A robust digital ID should close that gap and allow seamless verification at scale.
The government also plans to standardise identity from birth, with common digital IDs for both people and businesses. This means registrations and transactions will carry remote authentication by default, which is essential for secure fintech growth.
Trust, however, remains the biggest barrier. Scams erode confidence, particularly among seniors. Biometric authentication is the answer. It can reduce fraud and give people the comfort they need to shift away from cash.
Banks as Anchors for Economic Stability, Financial Confidence, and Development
Damith Pallewatte, Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of HNB, a legacy institution adapting to a fast-changing financial landscape, argues that the future of payments is a collaboration between banks, fintechs, and regulators, not a competition.
Why has HNB taken the lead in supporting Sri Lanka’s first fintech summit?
The summit is about much more than technology. It is about building trust. For years, banks, fintechs and regulators have worked separately, often with little confidence in each other.
“Banks will not be replaced by fintechs, but their role will evolve. We remain the custodians of trust, compliance, and stability, yet we must also embrace partnerships.”
This summit brings everyone together—from investors to students—in a neutral space where dialogue can happen and partnerships can grow. HNB felt it was our responsibility to step forward. As one of the largest banks in the country, we have the credibility and the reach to act as a bridge. We have also played a strong role in promoting digital adoption by investing in payments, supporting interoperability, and encouraging customers to move away from cash. Fintechs bring creativity and agility but often lack visibility without the support of banks or regulators. By leading this summit, we want to show that fintechs are not competitors but partners in creating a more inclusive digital economy.
How do you see the role of banks evolving as fintech adoption accelerates?
Banks will not be replaced by fintechs, but their role will change. We remain the custodians of trust, compliance, and stability, but we must also open ourselves up to partnerships. Fintechs bring agility, creativity, and niche solutions that can reach markets banks often struggle with.
Without banks, many fintechs cannot scale because they lack liquidity, risk management, and regulatory cover. Without fintechs, banks risk being too slow to innovate. The future is about co-creation.
Regulators already look to banks as anchors in the system, so we must be both enablers and collaborators, ensuring fintech adoption grows in a responsible, inclusive way.