BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 2. Azerbaijan's PASHA Bank plans to launch its own solution for accepting payments as an mobile phone application, by the end of 2022, the Bank’s Board Member Jalal Orujov told Trend.
According to Orujov, in order to implement this project, negotiations are underway between the bank and the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, in order to have an application, along with a POS terminal.
"Technologically, this option exists, and it has been implemented in a number of foreign countries. The emergence of this option in our country will lead to further increase of non-cash payments, especially certain segments, for example, in cargo transportation or courier services," he said.
The official noted that, along with Apple Pay and Google Pay, local contactless payment solutions based on mobile devices have already being offered in Azerbaijan, and their number will steadily grow.
“By the end of 2022, a legal act on the regulation of “open banking” should be adopted. Its adoption will provide an opportunity to develop services and start-ups aimed at increasing cashless payments and creating new financial technologies,” Orujov further said. “The number of non-traditional, that is, non-banking players will also grow in the financial services market. An even greater spread of e-commerce and cashless payments, as well as payments on online platforms, can be expected. Hopefully, by the end of this year a system for accepting bank cards will be introduced in public transport.”
Moreover, the coverage of POS-terminals throughout the country will also grow, he added.