Business consultancy project

Non-Cash Payments and E-commerce in Azerbaijan.

The “State Program on the expansion of digital payments for 2018-2020”, which is the foundation for building a digital economy in our country, was adopted by the President of AR. The major objective of the State Program is to stimulate the expansion of non-cash payments and reinforcing the financial resources of the banking field. In order to achieve the objective, the institutional, legal bases and infrastructural capabilities of digital payment services should be improved. The expansion of digital payments will lead to reduced operational costs of banks and financial institutions, expansion of tax base, easier access to financial resources, improved credit and investment environment, that will definitely result in economic growth. ("State Program on Digital Payment Expansion in 2018-2020" will significantly expand cashless payment environment, 2018)
According to the press release of the Central bank of Azerbaijan, the event of awarding the Banks in Azerbaijan devoted to the cashless payments held on February 2019. It was initiated by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan Banks Association and was devoted to the cashless payments in Azerbaijan. During the event, the CBA jointly with the ABA announced the contest results on numerous nominations regarding the evolution of non-cash payments, development of innovations, e-banking, and e-commerce in Azerbaijan (Table 5).
The representative of authorities of the Central Bank informed about the development of cashless payments in the country, being one of the most crucial priorities for the Central Bank. The official statistics confirm the progress in the digital transformation of payments. For instance, in 2018, the share of interbank transactions
increased by 31%. Meanwhile, the share of non-cash payments in relation to the card turnover amounted to 17%, increased by 11% in the last five years. The volume of e-banking transactions grew by 18.7 times to AZN 36.4 bln in this period.
According to the President of ABA, the transformation to the digital economy will lead to increased accessibility to financial resources, and an attractive investment climate for the investors. Moreover, the public program involves the enhancement of digital payments environment and recovery of the banking system, including financial literacy strengthening measures.