People's Bank clarifies technical error in foreign currency remittance system

A technical error in a foreign currency exchange remittance system led to some customers being paid higher amounts than scheduled, People’s Bank clarified in an official media release.

According to the statement, this error occurred between May 2023 and March 2026.

The bank recently identified that an error in converting the exchange rate from one currency unit during that period resulted in certain customers receiving more money than they were due.

The bank took action to fully rectify the error by now, the statement noted.

An internal investigation commenced immediately upon identifying the incident, and People’s Bank stated that further investigations are underway based on the instructions of regulatory and supervisory authorities, including the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

The estimated financial impact due to this error is approximately 656 million rupees, People’s Bank said.

However, since that amount was already included in the financial statements published during the relevant period, the bank emphasised that no further financial impact is expected from this point onward based on current calculations.

Furthermore, the bank mentioned through the statement that the process of recovering the overpaid funds from the customers involved in these transactions is already underway.

People’s Bank informed all customers and stakeholders that its day-to-day banking operations, digital banking facilities, and customer services function as normal, and since People's Bank is a strong financial institution with assets worth around 3.8 trillion rupees, this incident causes no impact on the bank's financial stability, profit, or the safety of customers' accounts and deposits.

The statement is below,