July 09, Colombo: In a shocking revelation, a Sri Lankan banking expert says that more than 70 percent of the country's population does not make use of banking facilities.

A local newspaper quoted the Chairman of Lanka Financial Services for Underserved Settlements (LFSUS) and Deputy General Manager, Marketing and Retail Banking, Hatton National Bank (HNB), Chandula Abeywickrema saying that although a large number of banks were operating in the country, Sri Lanka's financial literacy stands at less than 30% of the population, which means that over 70% of the population lives without a bank account.

He said that majority of the people are low income and daily wage earners in the country and because of that, the usage of banking facility is very low in the country.