# Bank of Ceylon

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/bank-of-ceylon
> research date 2026-06-01 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [BoC — official](https://www.boc.lk/)

## Key details

- **Parent:** assets

## Overview

**Bank of Ceylon** is **Sri Lankan state-owned commercial bank** + **Government of Sri Lanka via Ministry of Finance fully owned** + **Sri Lanka's largest commercial bank by assets** + **founded Aug 1 1939 as Sri Lanka's first locally-owned commercial bank by then-British Ceylon colonial government** <sup>[1][1], [Sri Lanka report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK)</sup>.

## History

**Aug 1 1939 — Bank of Ceylon BoC founded as Sri Lanka's first locally-owned commercial bank by then-British Ceylon colonial government** distinctive Sri Lankan banking heritage.

**1961 — Bank of Ceylon nationalised by Sri Lankan government**.

**2014 — BoC SmartPay mobile banking app launch**.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **Bank of Ceylon BoC** (Sri Lankan state-owned commercial bank; Government of Sri Lanka fully owned).

**Major shareholders**: **Government of Sri Lanka (Ministry of Finance) fully owned**.

**Regulators**: **CBSL Central Bank of Sri Lanka + national regulators across 7+ countries**.

## Technical integration

BoC SmartPay mobile app (iOS + Android) + boc.lk online + Bank of Ceylon branch network across Sri Lanka + UK + US + India + Maldives + Bangladesh + Seychelles international branches + BoC Visa + Mastercard cards; LK IBAN + LankaQR.

## Implementations & partners

**Major Sri Lankan banking + payments competitors**: [Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank Digital)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/commercial-bank-ceylon) (Commercial Bank of Ceylon ComBank; CSE: COMB; Sri Lanka's largest private commercial bank by assets) + [Hatton National Bank (Sri Lanka)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/hatton-national-bank) (Hatton National Bank HNB; CSE: HNB; Sri Lanka's #2 private commercial bank by assets) + [Sampath Bank (Sri Lanka)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/sampath-bank) (Sampath Bank; CSE: SAMP; Sri Lankan commercial bank) + [People's Bank Sri Lanka](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/peoples-bank-srilanka) (People's Bank Sri Lanka; Sri Lankan state-owned commercial bank; Sri Lanka's #2 state-owned commercial bank) + [DFCC Bank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/dfcc-bank) (DFCC Bank; CSE: DFCC; Sri Lankan commercial bank) + [Seylan Bank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/seylan-bank) (Seylan Bank; CSE: SEYB; Sri Lankan commercial bank) + [NDB Bank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/ndb-bank) (NDB Bank National Development Bank; CSE: NDB; Sri Lankan commercial bank) + [Nations Trust Bank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/nation-trust-bank) (Nations Trust Bank; CSE: NTB; Sri Lankan commercial bank) + [LankaQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/lankaqr) (LankaQR Sri Lankan national QR payment scheme).

**Regulators**: CBSL Central Bank of Sri Lanka + national regulators across 7+ countries.

## Status

**Active, Sri Lankan state-owned commercial bank + Government of Sri Lanka via Ministry of Finance fully owned + Sri Lanka's largest commercial bank by assets + founded Aug 1 1939 as Sri Lanka's first locally-owned commercial bank by then-British Ceylon colonial government** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>.

## Sources

[1]: https://www.boc.lk/ "BoC — official"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Ceylon "BoC — Wikipedia"
[lk-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK

- [1] [BoC — official][1]
- [2] [BoC — Wikipedia][2]
- <sup>[Sri Lanka report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/LK-sri-lanka.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [bank-of-ceylon.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/bank-of-ceylon). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.