Sri Lanka to issue first digital ID by year-end, move traffic fines online

Sri Lanka plans to issue its first digital identity card by the end of 2026 and require all traffic fines to be paid through the govPay platform from September, the President’s Media Division said.

Officials disclosed the plans during a review meeting on Digital Economy Ministry projects chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday.

The meeting reviewed progress towards the Government’s target of expanding Sri Lanka’s digital economy to US$30 billion by 2030.

Officials said facilities were being prepared to enable all traffic fines to be paid online through govPay from September as part of efforts to simplify transactions between the public and state institutions.

The meeting also reviewed the National Super App, National QR Drive, National Data Exchange and Number Portability projects, as well as a digital procurement and government services platform.

Progress on the digitisation of television broadcasting, the establishment of GovTech, an artificial intelligence data centre and the GovTech Academy was also discussed.

Dissanayake instructed officials to consider establishing a nationwide information technology service within the public sector to support the Government’s digital transformation programme.

The review covered projects implemented by agencies including the Department for Registration of Persons, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka CERT, Data Protection Authority and Sri Lanka Telecom-Mobitel.