BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 18. The adoption of the law ‘On payment systems and services’ will determine the mechanisms for supporting and controlling the ecosystem of online payments, Executive Director at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) Farid Osmanov told Trend on October 18.
According to Osmanov, the CBA prepared and agreed upon the bill ‘On payment systems and services’ with the relevant state bodies and submitted it to the Azerbaijani government.
"During the preparation of this bill, the focus was made on international practice and leading technologies. Besides, the bill was formed on the basis of the directive on payment services and systems of the EU. With the adoption of this bill, consumer protection mechanisms will be defined in the payments ecosystem,” he said.
“At the same time, a legal framework will be created to control the activities of organizations and operators of payment systems, as well as third-party service providers (which give information about accounts and intermediary services on payment transactions),” the executive director added.
“Moreover, this bill will enable us to create enhanced user authentication mechanisms. The bill also covers control measures for ‘Open Banking’. Measures of a special control regime will also be reflected in the law. This is about tools for supporting and monitoring fin-tech organizations, start-up projects and other players,” Osmanov explained.
“The bill also reflects issues regulating the activities of financial organizations, issues of ensuring safe and reliable payment systems and their efficient operation," he noted.
Besides, according to him, the CBA, along with its regulatory role, will also support innovative financial solutions to enter the financial market.
"This bill also reflects the rights of a paying agent (a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur engaged in accepting payments from individuals). Thus, the paying agent will receive the authority to legally carry out intermediary services, that is, payment transactions on behalf of banks, non-banking organizations and other financial institutions,” the executive director said.
“The formation of a legislative framework for monitoring and controlling the activities of financial players will increase financial inclusiveness in Azerbaijan," Osmanov said.