Sri Lanka has entered the final stage of enabling inward remittances through PayPal, Secretary to the Ministry of Digital Economy Sri Lanka, Waruna Sri Dhanapala said.
According to Newsfirst Sri Lanka, Dhanapala confirmed that progress has been made through collaboration between private banks, PayPal and its parent company, with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka indicating that the initiative is now nearing completion.
Commenting on recent media reports, Dhanapala said he had consulted Central Bank officials responsible for bank supervision and payments. While no formal announcement has yet been issued, he noted that “there has been progress,” and that the project is currently in its concluding phase.
The initiative aims to remove long-standing restrictions that prevented Sri Lanka from receiving payments via PayPal. Once operational, small and medium-scale enterprises—particularly internet-based service providers—will be able to receive foreign income through a formal digital payment mechanism, beyond traditional card-based transactions.
Dhanapala explained that the absence of a Sri Lankan address option had previously compelled many local businesses to use foreign or false addresses to open overseas accounts, resulting in a loss of valuable foreign exchange inflows. Under the proposed system, transactions will fall within the Central Bank’s regulatory framework, providing greater transparency while offering convenience to entrepreneurs and consumers.
He further noted that informal remittance channels such as Undiyal continue to operate, but the new system is expected to encourage users to shift toward a government-recognised and regulated platform. This would also enable proper tax compliance on foreign earnings, generating additional revenue for the State.
