Sri Lanka has already built strong digital payment infrastructure, and the inaugural FinTech Festival in Colombo shows how keen the government and industry are to put the country on the regional map.

But technology alone will not deliver a cashless, inclusive economy. As officials at the festival’s launch noted, innovation must be balanced with security, accountability and public confidence.

Every online scam, data leak or failed transaction erodes the trust that digital finance depends on. Regulators, banks and startups will need to invest as much in consumer protection and digital literacy as they do in new apps.

If Sri Lanka gets that balance right, fintech could do more than modernise payments — it could bring millions of people and small businesses into the formal financial system for the first time.