June 01, 2024

Veteran banker L.H.A. Lakshman Silva appointed as the Chairman of LankaPay

LankaPay – Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network recently announced the appointment of veteran banker, Mr. L.H.A. Lakshman Silva as its new Chairman with effect from 1st June 2024 for a period of 3 years with former Chairman Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa stepping down from the position after an illustrious 3-year tenure. The appointment has been made by the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka – Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe.

Mr. Silva is an illustrious banker with over 35 years’ experience in the industry. Starting his professional career with the Department of Inland Revenue of Sri Lanka, Mr. Silva joined the DFCC Banking Group in 1987, before he was seconded to DFCC Vardhana Bank in 2003 as the Chief Operating Officer where he progressed to become the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director in January 2010. He also held the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer/Director of DFCC Bank PLC from October 2015 and was appointed the Chief Executive Officer/Director in August 2017 in which position he served until retirement in 2021.

During his career, Mr. Silva held the position of Chairman of DFCC Consulting (Pvt) Limited, Lanka Industrial Estates Limited and Synapsys Limited, subsidiary companies of DFCC Bank PLC, and the Chairman of Lanka Financial Services Bureau Limited as well as Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (Guarantee) Limited. He also held the position of Chairman / Director of Acuity Partners (Pvt) Limited, the joint venture company of DFCC Bank PLC, Lanka Ventures Limited and LVL Energy Fund PLC and also served on the Board of LankaClear (Pvt) Ltd (former name of LankaPay) until 31/12/ 2021.

Mr. Silva was a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), and Board of Management of the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority. At present, he also acts as an Independent Non-executive Director at Seylan Bank PLC, Finetech Consultancy Pvt Ltd and HNB Assurance PLC whilst serving as Chairman & Director of Panasian Power PLC & it’s subsidiary companies. Mr. Silva is also a Member of the Stakeholder Engagement Committee of Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

He holds a BCom (Sp.) Degree from the University of Kelaniya and an MBA from the Postgraduate Institute of Management of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura and is also an Associate Member of the Association of Development Financial Institutions of Asia & Pacific (ADFIAP).

LankaPay as the national payment network has made significant impact on the digital transformation in the country and has achieved a remarkable growth over the last decade. With its global journey which began in 2022, the entity has made notable progress in terms of enabling cross border transactions paving the way for seamless borderless payments. In that light, Mr Silva’s appointment comes at a crucial juncture and it is envisaged to further accelerate its journey.