BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 6. Visa international payment system sees huge potential in the Azerbaijani market for innovations, Senior Director, Regional Manager of Visa in Azerbaijan Nurlan Hajiyev said in an interview with Trend.
He noted that Visa, jointly with the International Bank of Azerbaijan, launched tokenization [a process by which a piece of sensitive data, such as a credit card number, is replaced by a surrogate value known as a token] for the first time in the country in 2019, which allowed for purchasing through mobile phones.
"Work is underway to increase the number of banks connected to tokenization. Currently, some 11 banks are connected to it. This introduction has allowed us to implement a large number of projects, including launching Apple Pay in 2021 and Google Pay in 2022. Also, Azerbaijan became the first country in the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) to launch the first B2B Connect," he said.
Hajiyev noted that the number of banks supporting Apple Pay and Google Pay increased in 2022.
"Moreover, we witnessed the launch of an innovative TapToPhone solution in Azerbaijan, which allows Android phones, not only to pay but also to accept payments. This project was launched for the first time with our partner bank - Kapital Bank," said the regional manager.
According to him, another innovation was the issuance of the world's first co-branded card of Bank Respublika, Wolt and Visa.
"Also, we have launched payment using QR codes in ASAN Centers. In the pilot mode, we have launched the issue of digital cards by the mobile operator Azercell and expect its full expansion in the near future," he added.
Hajiyev also mentioned that Visa introduced Mobility & Transit Transaction technology in Azerbaijan for the first time (among EMEA countries).
This technology offers a range of flexible fares for passengers (including fixed fares), distance- and time-based fares, multimodal fares, as well as features such as fare restrictions, benefits, and refunds for delays.