FUND REMITTANCE PLATFORM TO SRI LANKA FOR THE BENEFIT OF RUSSIAN TOURISTS
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Moscow is pleased to initiate a banking cooperation between People's Bank, Sri Lanka and National Investment Industrial Bank in Russia (NIIB) with a view to devising a platform for Russian tourists to make payments in Sri Lanka seamlessly in Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) with effect from the 21st November 2022.

Procedure to be applied to get this facility

► Opening a Personal Foreign Currency Account (PFCA) in USD or EUR at People's Bank, Sri Lanka two weeks prior to visiting Sri Lanka.

► Applications to open the above PFCA at People's Bank could be downloaded from the link; https://www.srilankaembassy.ru/en/tourism/banking-cooperation/downloads and send the duly filled applications along with a clear image of the passport to the email address; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

► Once the said PFCA is opened, the applicant will have to visit the NIIB in Moscow and open a Current Account in Rubles and other foreign currencies in order to remit funds to the PFCA in Sri Lanka. NIIB is scheduled to deliver a personalised service to each customer with more attractive charges. Customers could also get the assistance from NIIB to fill out the account opening forms of the People's Bank and hand over the dully filled account opening forms along with their passport copies to NIIB and, NIIB will email the same to People's Bank.

► Upon arrival in Sri Lanka, tourists will be issued a debit card. The said debit card can be used for making payments in Sri Lanka and withdrawing cash from any automated teller machines (ATMs) in LKR at the prevailing exchange rate.

► On the departure, the tourists could choose to terminate the account by withdrawing the balance in relevant foreign currency. Alternatively, tourists could opt to keep on operating the account, holding a minimum balance of USD 50 or equivalent in relevant foreign currency.

► Russian tourists are informed to go through the frequently asked questions (FAQs) via https://www.srilankaembassy.ru/en/tourism/banking-cooperation/faqs for more details about this initiative.
Should there be any enquiries and further clarification in this regard, you may wish to reach out to the following contact points.

Prepared & published by;

Embassy of Sri Lanka in Moscow
15/11/2022