Sri Lanka’s GovPay targets $3B in revenue over next half-decade

Sri Lanka’s Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) plans to generate 1 trillion Sri Lankan rupees (approximately US$3.3 billion) in revenue over the next 4 to 5 years through its GovPay platform.

The long-term ambition is to contribute billions of dollars to the economy through government digital payments. The platform aims to make public services more accessible and empower citizens to partake in the economy. Digital payments also help build credit scores, enabling access to microcredit for startups and MSMEs, Digital Economy Deputy Minister Eng. Eranga Weeraratne said at an event recently, where a revamped GovPay.lk website was also unveiled, containing an improved user interface and real-time dashboards to track institutional performance and transaction flows.

“The primary objective is to establish a cashless and presenceless payment experience for government services.”

Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, chief adviser to the President on digital economy and ICTA chairperson, emphasized the significance of GovPay within the Digital Economy Blueprint, which focuses on developing critical infrastructure such as broadband, cloud computing, and digital public infrastructure (DPI). He outlined a vision for achieving inclusive broadband coverage for citizens and institutions within the next three to five years, leveraging a hybrid cloud strategy that couples local and global cloud services.

GovPay, like Sri Lanka’s broader digital transformation plan, rests on its SL-UDI digital ID, which the government is currently working to source technology for.

The initiative aims to support Sri Lanka’s bankable population, which accounts for over 80 percent of citizens, to adopt the digital payments system and increase financial literacy among the population. Fintech apps have been hosted on the platform, and cabinet approval has been obtained to roll out the traffic fines solution island-wide, (ICTA) Board Member Harsha Purasinghe said.

Since its launch in February 2025, GovPay has processed 7,024 transactions, making Rs 65.62 million ($220,000) in government revenue through seamless and secure digital payments. Nearly 700 public services across onboarded organizations are now digitally payable via the platform, aiming to transform the way citizens interact with government institutions. Purasinghe also stated plans to go onboard with more than 100 public agencies within the next few months and drive citizen adoption of digital payments across these public services.

Article Topics

digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital payments  |  government services  |  GovPay  |  SL-UDI (Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity)  |  Sri Lanka