Mar 25, Colombo: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today instructed the financial institutions to provide relief to the public and businesses affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world.

The President instructed financial institutions to charge a max rate of 15% on local credit card transactions of value up to Rs.50,000, reduce the minimum payment on credit cards by 50 percent and extend the deadline until April 30, 2020 for repayment of all credit cards below the limit Rs. 50,000.

The President also instructed all financial institutions to provide working capital requirement loans at an interest rate of 4 percent and wave off interest payments for at least six months. This will be applicable for SMEs, tourism, apparel, plantation, IT and logistics sectors.