International trade is a vital segment of the Sri Lankan economy and a financial support system. This attuned to the needs of those engaged in import and export which are integral for the sector’s continued growth.
As a bank that is constantly evolving to meet the needs of its diverse customers, Sampath Bank is among one of the few financial institutions that has a comprehensive trade service offering.
With a network of 229 branches across the country and 12 super branches operating from 8.00am to 08.00pm throughout the year, supported by14 Import Documentary Collection Units, including 2 branches with dedicated counters for opening Letters of Credit, accessibility and convenience are one of the strong suits of Sampath Bank.
Enhancing this further, Bank recently opened a Trade Unit at the Colombo Super Branch, giving customers the flexibility to handle their trade transactions until 10.00pm, 365 days. Also the bank is looking to open 2 regional centres in Matara and Kurunegala.
The Bank’s import and export related processes are automated with the assurance of same day processing. Traders can also rely on the Bank for competitive pricing and the best exchange rates in the market. Moreover, Sampath Bank has over 500 correspondent banks around the world.
The Bank also has a dedicated ‘Export House’ that focuses on exporters in the SME sector. Apart from assisting branches in structuring credit facilities to exporters, the unit brings value addition in terms of supporting exporters to find markets, develop products and identify resources for other logistical requirements.
In house job related training and fortnightly knowledge sharing sessions are a norm at Sampath Bank. This combined with professionalism as well as innovation has helped the Bank progress rapidly.
“At Sampath Bank we constantly encourage feedback from the team and our continuous process improvements are the ideas of users,” said Sanath Abhayaratne, Assistant General Manager, Global Business, Sampath Bank PLC. Elaborating further he also stated “We are all about advancement and our System Development Department is currently working on improvements to speed up the services to customers through a workflow and Document Management System. With the migration to an upgraded version of the core banking system, straight through processing for trade related payments would be made available.”
With time and cost being primarily factors, in the competitive market of import and export, Sampath Bank became the first private bank in the country to have an online payment system exclusively for traders to make payments to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. Continuing this advantage of being ahead of the industry, Bank has several specialized products and services that assist traders to expedite trade processing.
Sampath Export Direct under the Documentary Collection Method eliminates the need to visit the bank, giving exporters the freedom to dispatch documents directly to their buyers overseas even on non-banking days. While Sampath Vishwa Trade Services provides customers with the convenience of establishing Letters of Credit and enquiring on their trade related transactions online. SMS Alertz, another dedicated offering, immediately notifies exporters upon receipt of proceeds for export bills and receipt of documents for importers.
With more people migrating from Letters of Credit to Open Account in order to gain cost efficiency, the risk component in export transactions have significantly increased. The unique Trade Advisory Service that Sampath Bank offers provides assistance to mitigate such risks in International Trade. Commenting on this Abhayaratne said. “Going that extra mile for our customers is something we take pride in and the Trade Advisory Service is one such offering. We educate our customers thoroughly on all areas of document preparation, as well as the risks and solutions to minimize the same, weextend this training to their staff too if required.”
0 comments: