Baku, Azerbaijan, March 6
By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend:
The process of opening private currency exchange offices in Azerbaijan will begin after the necessary regulatory and legal acts enter into force, Azerbaijan’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FIMSA) told Trend March 6.
Under the new order on holding currency exchange transactions, which was adopted Dec. 30, 2017, the currency exchange offices will be able to operate at a separate kiosk or building, including at railway stations, hotels, ports and airports.
Currency exchange in such offices is carried out only in cash.
The sale of currency equivalent to more than $500 or purchase of currency equivalent to more than $10,000 is possible only with the provision of an identity card.
Presently, currency exchange offices can only operate at banks. This ban was introduced in January 2016, when against the background of two devaluations of Azerbaijani national currency, manat, in 2015 [in February and December] the so-called black markets became active and the number of speculations with the currency increased.
The FIMSA also noted that the requirements for currency exchange offices in Baku and Azerbaijan’s districts will be the same, and will not depend on the value of transactions.