Sri Lanka, March 5 -- More than two decades ago, we were kicking around ideas on what would be the most attractive e-government (e-gov) services we could introduce through the new World Bank funded e-Sri Lanka Programme. Someone suggested paying taxes electronically, but it did not tick the box of generating support for more e-gov services. Who likes paying taxes? And it was hard to do in those pre-smartphone days.

One of the first services being offered under the current digitalisation initiative is GovPay, a convenient way of making payments to various state entities, including the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). As the ICTA Board Member leading the effort, Harsha Purasinghe, announced in December 2024: "Launching by the end of Janua...