Sri Lanka Bus Card Payments Launch

Starting next Monday (Nov 24), passengers will be able to pay bus fares using bank cards.

Sri Lanka’s public bus transport system will introduce a Contactless Card Payment System (Tap-to-Pay) starting on November 24. This initiative is being implemented as a new program by the Ministry of Transport and Highways, under the guidance of the Ministry of Digital Economy. The system is scheduled to officially launch at the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Center and will be gradually rolled out across the entire country.

The initial phase is planned to cover around 20 bus routes, including three main intercity routes. As a result, buses traveling to Badulla, Galle, and Matara will be among the first to support this payment method. The system is also expected to help collect public transport route data while making travel more convenient for passengers.

So far, five state-owned and private banks have expressed their willingness to support this initiative.