The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at an urgent meeting to review its monetary policy stance on 16 March 2020, decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent and 7.25 per cent, respectively, with effect from 17 March 2020 and to reduce the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) on all rupee deposit liabilities of licensed commercial banks (LCBs) by 1.00 percentage point to 4.00 per cent, with effect from the current reserve maintenance period. The Board arrived at this decision in consideration of the urgent need to support economic activity with the rapid global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its possible further spread in Sri Lanka.















The promotional campaign of “2020 - Year of Digital Transactions” was launched by Deshamanya Prof. W D Lakshman, Governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on 11 March, 2020 at the CBSL amidst the attendance of senior bankers, officials of non-banking financial institutions, central bankers and other dignitaries. Following the launch, Mr. D Kumaratunge, Director Payments and Settlements of CBSL, introduced the advertising campaign of “Cash වදේ”. The campaign depicts the worries that both consumers and businesses face due to using cash, such as the risk of being robbed or losing time in queues. The launch, which marked official beginning of the retail level campaign aims to draw as many customers to use digital payment methods such as mobile applications, the LankaQR code, and credit and debit cards.