Electronic Cash

Feb 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's Commercial Bank of Ceylon has tied up with financial giant JP Morgan Chase, to offer a foreign exchange card that can replace travellers cheques for people traveling abroad, the bank said. Foreign travellers could store the equivalent of between 500 to 10,000 dollars and use it as to withdraw local currency notes from any Mastercard or Cirrus branded automated teller machine in the world.

The personal identification number (PIN) protected 'Travel Card' was jointly developed by J P Morgan Chase & Company and Master Card, Commercial Bank said in a statement.

Jegan Durairatnam, deputy general manager international at Commercial Bank says the card would be convenient as Sri Lanka has a limit of 1000 dollars that can be taken out in the form of notes.

"The most significant aspect of this facility is that it will be accepted virtually anywhere in the world because it is affiliated to JP Morgan Chase," Durairatnam said.

People who want to take out more than 10,000 US dollars could buy more than one card. It can also be used as a debit card at shops that accepts MasterCard credit cards.

The Travel Card cannot be used in Sri Lanka, and is valid up to three years. A user