• Authorities aim for cashless economy with SL-UDI rollout
• SL-UDI to facilitate smoother financial transactions, tax collection
• Small businesses to benefit from access to markets

Sri Lanka expects to commence data collection for the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identification (SL-UDI) from October onwards as the authorities try to move away from cash, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena said.

Speaking at the awareness session on the Personal Data Protection Act held at the General Treasury last week, Siriwardena said that the SL-UDI is now in the advanced stages of implementation as the bio-metric system procurement is being finalised, while the government expects to publish the Gazette to commence data collection under the new system in October 2024.

He said that the SL-UDI will be a crucial element in enhancing the efficiency of public service delivery, targeting benefits, enhancing digital payments, and improving tax collections as Sri Lanka shifts away from cash.

He said that these efforts towards fast-tracking the E-NIC and SL-UDI will be crucial enablers in the process of Sri Lanka’s digital transformation.

Moreover, Siriwardena said that the E-NIC project database would facilitate the entire digitalisation process of the government with the most accurate verification of individual identities through advanced technological solutions.

“This transition will enhance the government’s, private, and other entities’ capacity to provide more efficient services to their customers. It will also enable the government to identify financial transactions in a more transparent way,” he said, adding that it would contribute to formalisation of the economy and significantly improve tax administration efforts as well. It will also streamline coordination between government institutions, consequently providing convenience to the public.”

Further, he said that digitalisation is also key to creating a more inclusive economy, “where the smallest rural SMEs and the newest start-ups will be able to access markets in Sri Lanka and beyond our shores by leveraging the digital economy.”