Sri Lanka’s government could allow more payment gateways and reduce fees to expand electronic commerce, a draft road map on reforms in the sector has suggested.
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and interested parties should actively work to increase the presence and participation of national and international e-commerce companies, the report prepared by the Geneva-based International Trade Centre (ITC) said.
“The participation of several companies shed new light into current operational challenges, but wider participation from major international players such as PayPal may help to identify specific reforms to improve electronic payments.”
The paper, presented at a forum on e-commerce reforms held by the CAA and ITC with European Union funding, said Sri Lanka’s payments system was consistently identified as a key barrier to widespread adoption of e-commerce.
“Consumer and financial regulators in Sri Lanka should work to identify potential reforms that may result in new market entrants offering innovative payment systems in the country,” it said.
“They may include efforts to reduce transactional fees, the availability of new entrants, more payment gateways, increased speed of payments, and reduced delays of customs officials.”
The ITC suggested the central bank could lead on implementing a framework for payments in co-ordination with the Inland Revenue Department, Customs and Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.
Source: https://economynext.com/More_payment_gateways_mooted_to_expand_Sri_Lanka_e_commerce-3-11825.html