Wallets/frimi
FriMi
0 standards supported
Overview
FriMi is Sri Lanka's first fully-fledged digital banking experience, operated by Nations Trust Bank PLC (NTB; CSE: NTB) — NOT NDB Bank [1, 2, lk-cro]. 500,000+ app downloads by 2025.
Distinctive FriMi positioning:
- First and only Sri Lankan digital banking app with true online customer onboarding — no forms, no need to visit branches; only requires Sri Lankan SIM + smartphone + Sri Lankan over 18.
- Combination of digital bank account + digital wallet + payment system wrapped in single lifestyle app.
- NTB's digital banking arm — NTB is a major Sri Lankan commercial bank.
FriMi services: Interest-earning savings accounts + digital FDs + Savings Pots + Round-Up Savings + full funds-transfer + payments + financial-tracking features.
History
2017 — FriMi launches [1] by Nations Trust Bank PLC as Sri Lanka's first fully-fledged digital banking experience.
2019 — 2 years on FriMi continues to dominate Sri Lankan digital banking [3]: NTB's digital banking dominance.
2020-2024 — Mass Sri Lankan adoption [1]: 500K+ app downloads.
2025 — Continued growth + Digital Banking 2.0 features [4].
Ownership & operator
Operating entity: Nations Trust Bank PLC (CSE: NTB) — major Sri Lankan commercial bank.
Regulators: CBSL (Central Bank of Sri Lanka).
Technical integration
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Channels | FriMi mobile app (iOS + Android) + FriMi card |
| Identifiers | Phone + email + NIC (Sri Lankan National Identity Card) + card number |
| LK rail | lankaqr (Sri Lanka national QR) |
| License | Bank (Nations Trust Bank-operated; CBSL-regulated) |
| Sub-products | FriMi Savings Account (interest-earning) + Digital FDs + Savings Pots + Round-Up Savings + payments + funds-transfer + financial-tracking |
| Distinctive UX | True online customer onboarding (no forms, no branch visit; only SR-SIM + smartphone + Sri Lankan over 18) |
Users & growth
2025 baseline [2]:
- App downloads: 500,000+
- Eligibility: Any Sri Lankan over 18 with smartphone (no forms, no branch visit)
- Distinctive Sri Lankan digital banking: First and only true online customer onboarding
Use cases
Sri Lankan digital banking via FriMi (account + wallet + payment system in one app); interest-earning savings; Digital FDs (Fixed Deposits); Savings Pots + Round-Up Savings; LankaQR national QR payments; funds-transfer + financial-tracking features.
Implementations & partners
Operator: Nations Trust Bank PLC (CSE: NTB).
Major Sri Lankan digital-banking + mobile-payment competitors:
- Sampath SET (Sampath Bank) — major Sri Lankan bank mobile app
- Commercial Bank of Ceylon Online (CBC) — Sri Lanka's largest commercial bank
- HNB SOLO (Hatton National Bank)
- People's Wave (People's Bank — Sri Lankan state-owned)
- PickMe Pay (PickMe ride-hailing payment integration)
- Helapay (Sri Lankan mobile wallet)
- iPay (Cargills Bank mobile wallet)
Regulator: CBSL (Central Bank of Sri Lanka).
Fun facts
- Sri Lanka's first fully-fledged digital banking experience (2017 launch by NTB).
- First and only Sri Lankan digital banking app with true online customer onboarding — no forms, no branch visit; only SR-SIM + smartphone + Sri Lankan over 18.
- 500,000+ app downloads.
- Nations Trust Bank PLC (CSE: NTB) parent — major Sri Lankan commercial bank.
- Distinctive lifestyle-app positioning: Savings + Digital FDs + Savings Pots + Round-Up Savings + payments + funds-transfer + financial-tracking all-in-one.
- Common misperception: FriMi is by NTB (Nations Trust Bank), NOT NDB Bank.
Comparison
| Feature | FriMi | Sampath SET (Sampath Bank rival) | Commercial Bank Online (CBC; LK's largest commercial bank rival) | HNB SOLO (Hatton National Bank rival) | People's Wave (People's Bank state-owned rival) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Nations Trust Bank PLC (CSE: NTB) | Sampath Bank | Commercial Bank of Ceylon | Hatton National Bank | People's Bank (state-owned) |
| Type | LK first fully-fledged digital banking + true online customer onboarding | LK Sampath Bank mobile | LK Commercial Bank mobile | LK HNB mobile | LK state-bank mobile |
| Country | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka |
| Distinctive | First + only true online customer onboarding (no forms, no branch); 500K+ downloads; lifestyle app + Savings Pots + Round-Up Savings + Digital FDs | Sampath-anchored | LK's largest commercial bank-anchored | HNB-anchored | State-owned bank-anchored |
Status
Active, Sri Lanka's first fully-fledged digital banking experience [1, 2]:
- Nations Trust Bank PLC (CSE: NTB) with FriMi since 2017.
- 500,000+ app downloads.
- First + only Sri Lankan digital banking with true online customer onboarding (no forms, no branch visit).
- CBSL regulated via NTB banking license.
Sources
- 1 FriMi — official
- 2 FriMi Digital Wallet Guide — DepositLK
- 3 FriMi continues to dominate LK — Daily FT
- 4 FriMi Digital Banking 2.0 — EconomyNext
- lk-cro In-corpus:
reports/countries/LK-sri-lanka.md
Source
Biography extracted from frimi.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.