Sri Lankan Airlines is set to begin offering new codeshares with fellow Oneworld member Finnair.

From June 2 Finnair’s AY code will be added to select Sri Lankan Airlines services between the Sri Lankan capital Colombo and Frankfurt, Paris, London, Rome, Bangkok and Hong Kong.

Sri Lankan Airlines’ UL code will be added to select Finnair services between Helsinki and Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, London, Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen.

Sri Lankan Airlines, head of commercial operations, Mohamed Fazeel said: “Sri Lankan Airlines is very pleased to be partnering Finnair which is one of the world’s leading airlines.

“We are confident that this partnership with Finnair will expand Sri Lankan’s reach to the Scandinavian region; thereby increasing Scandinavian tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka and facilitate more visitors to the Scandinavian region from Sri Lanka and South Asia.

“Sri Lankan Airlines will continue to partner many other Oneworld member airlines in order to provide more direct connections to Colombo.”

Recently we reported that a Sri Lankan bank has begun negotiations with US based PayPal to become its domestic partner bank for inward remittances. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka currently allows outward payments through PayPal via credit cards but the monetary authority prohibits receipts and withdrawals from domestic bank accounts.

However, the Central Bank has planned to ease restrictions and allow inward payments as well.

Now, there are reports that PayPal has unveiled a new global branding campaign designed to put greater focus on its ability to let the people make payments for goods and services anywhere and anytime.

The rebranding comes as the company has grown to have some 148 million active PayPal accounts and has taken on a broad-ranging approach to new mobile payment technologies. The moves have led some analysts to conclude that PayPal faces a promising 2014 and beyond.

Citing its 148 million active customers, PalPal says “no other mobile wallet player can boast these numbers or even come close.”
A Yankee Group survey shows that 15% of U.S. mobile device owners have used a PayPal app recently, which trumps any other mobile wallet by fourfold.

PayPal already puts a strong emphasis on mobile payments, made possible with the PayPal App for consumers that can be downloaded for iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

PayPal has also announced plans to help merchants accept payments with a barcode shown on a phone, or from a customer inputing a 4-digit PIN in a payment terminal in the store.

The branding campaign is PayPal’s first since 2007. It will rely on the slogan, “”Powering the People Economy,” in print, digital and TV advertisements.

A new PayPal logo incorporates the double ‘P’ of the previous logo, but now overlaps the two P’s and uses more vibrant blue colors and a slightly different font.

Living by its credo of ‘We Care. Always.’ the National Mobile Service Provider, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel has introduced another life-style convenient service to its customers called ‘mCash’.

‘mCash’ will be available for all Post-Paid and Pre-Paid Mobitel customers by registering for a ‘mCash’ account via #111#. Customers can make monetary transactions and withdraw money from their ‘mCash’ account as well. Over 4,000 ‘mCash’ merchant points would be established at the launch of the new service and would later expand up to 10,000 merchant points across the country.

Speaking on the launch of the service, Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom and Mobitel’s Mr. Nimal Welgama said, "We at Mobitel are confident that this initiative to deliver a nationwide Mobile Money service will provide an unprecedented level of financial inclusion through the empowerment of millions of Sri Lankan citizens with electronic money transfer and payment facilities.

Approved by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, ‘mCash’ is a useful supplementary method to transfer money that is fast, user-friendly and would provide a host of special offers to its customers. The number of mobile phone subscribers in Sri Lanka has reached a staggering 20 million which would promote the demand for value added services such as ‘mCash’.

Custodial Banking services will be provided by Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, while Deutsche Bank A.G, is the Trustee Bank for this new initiative. ‘mCash’ would be the fastest, most secure and convenient method to transact money, settle utility bills and purchase goods and services via a mobile phone through an established partner network.

The dawn of the Mobile Money era in Sri Lanka has been made possible by the progressive and financial inclusion-focused, regulatory ethos of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the newly constructed House of Fashions shopping mall at D.S.Senanayake Mawatha, Borella monday evening.

This opening sees the closure of the fashion retailers mall situated at the  Duplication Road.

The new mega ‘House of Fashions’ mall located at the D. S. Senanayake Mawatha, Colombo 8, spans across 250,000 square feet.

The nine story building is the largest one-owner store in South Asia.

This is the sole House of Fashion shopping center in the country and will contain products carrying international brand names such as Nike, Adidas, Disney, Mango and other famous brand names.

The House of Fashions store in Duplication road, Colombo 4 is now closed for business. 

The bus fare for buses operating on the Southern Expressway have also been raised by Rs.30 rupees, the revised bus fare currently stands at Rs. 500.

Glamour was the order of the evening at the new ‘K Zone’ mall at Ja-Ela when Odel opened its second largest store in Sri Lanka within its precincts on Friday, 25th October.

Comprising of 12,000 square feet of stylish retail space, the new store offers the complete Odel experience, only outmatched in scale by Odel’s flagship store at Alexandra Place, Colombo. It will serve residents of Ja-Ela, Kandana, Negombo and other towns north of Colombo.

The new store was ceremonially opened by Odel founder and CEO Otara Gunewardene accompanied by two of her facebook fans. Invitees and Odel fans who attended the ceremonial opening were treated to a colourful fashion show inside the mall just before the store’s doors were opened.

The new store is open seven days a week from 10 am to 8 pm. It comprises of Odel’s Ladies, Men’s, Kids, Homeware, Backstage and Embark departments. New design elements and features offer a brighter, ultra-clean, sleek and modern look.