• For 16 services initially; expansion to cover 30 by end-Apr.  

The Government is set to launch its official digital payment system, ‘GovPay’, today (7), marking the first step in its proposed digitalisation programme.

Speaking at a press conference held yesterday (6) to raise awareness about the portal, the Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne, stated that 16 services provided by government institutions would be linked to the ‘GovPay’ platform as the first phase of the programme. He mentioned that the Government is working to expand its services by the end of April. He further noted that ‘GovPay’ is the first step towards creating a ‘cashless society’, minimising the use of cash in transactions. “This is part of the Government’s digitalisation programme. This initiative will help make a cashless society, where the use of cash will be minimised. The service can be accessed through any of the internet-banking portals used in Sri Lanka, as well as certain apps like Fintech and Helapay. In the first phase, people will be able to use it to pay for 16 services provided by the Government. By April, we hope to expand this to 30 services. People will no longer need to physically visit the Local Government authority to pay property taxes; they can use ‘GovPay’ to pay taxes, which is much easier,” he added.

He also mentioned that the Government aims to provide this service at a low transaction cost, such as Rs. 15. He further stated that the Government intends to extend this system to all services provided by the State.