BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. People will prefer to cash out more money if ATM encashment charges are lowered, the Governor of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan Taleh Kazimov said at today's meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship, Trend reports.
He noted that the main goal is to encourage non-cash payments.
"Banks are raising fees to make cash withdrawals unprofitable. There are terminals for cashless payments everywhere. The strategy is for people to switch to cashless payments. If a new bill is adopted, the Central Bank will have the authority to set the maximum market threshold," Kazimov added.
The volume of non-cash payments in Azerbaijan amounted to 58.56 billion manat ($34.45 billion) in 2022, which is 21.1 billion manat ($12.4 billion) or 56.26 percent more than in 2021.
The number of ATMs in Azerbaijan as of May 1, 2023 has reached 3,075 (an increase of 2.64 percent or 79 units over the year).
Out of the total number of ATMs, Baku accounts for 52 percent or 1,599 ATMs. There are 1,476 ATMs in other cities and regions of the country.