OREANDA-NEWS. July 13, 2010. National Savings Bank, the only Bank to have 100% Government Guarantee becomes the first bank in Sri Lanka to partner with the Moscow-based Commercial Bank UNISTREAM, which has made its presence in over 95 countries. The bank is an operational and organizational center for the Unistream Money Transfer system, reported the press-centre of UNISTREAM.  

This partnership will facilitate inward remittance of non-resident Sri Lankans through the worldwide presence of UNISTREAM and the island-wide presence of NSB.

‘Over a 1.5 Million Sri Lankans living and working overseas sent home around Rs.370 Billion last year, which accounted for about 8% of the country’s GDP. Taking into consideration the size of the global remittance market and the role that NSB plays in the economy of Sri Lanka, NSB’s partnership with UNISTREAM is a significant milestone targeting the growing Sri Lankan Diaspora worldwide’, said Mr. H M Hennyake Bandara, General Manager/CEO of National Savings Bank.

He further said, ‘we believe that due to the growing demand for remittances globally and Sri Lanka particularly, the project will be very popular and successful. By integration with UNISTREAM, we add one more attractive and affordable option to our product line’.

The set of services offered locally by this partnership includes cash to cash option, cash to account option and bank cheque delivery.

‘Recently, UNISTREAM has been putting a lot of efforts expanding into all principal world remittance corridors in general and in Asian region particularly’, said Senior Vice President of International Development for Commercial Bank UNISTREAM- Mr. Shekhar Nair.

While at the beginning, UNISTREAM’s services are available in over 160 locations across the country, it is planned to expand the network to 200 locations by the end of the year.

Remitters can now enjoy convenience, attractive rates and high quality services of sending money fr om over 95 countries to Sri Lanka wh ere NSB operates in all districts. This partnership will also help the Bank to attract migrant workers who currently send their money to Sri Lanka using illegal systems and gain more foreign currency into the banking system.

‘Having the biggest and the most diverse clientele banking with us, we are confident that our customers will appreciate and benefit from this strategic partnership that enhances our accessibility’, opined the optimistic GM/CEO of NSB H M Hennayake Bandara.