BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 18. Every fourth transaction in Azerbaijan today passes through Apple Pay and Google Pay, Executive Director of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) Farid Osmanov said during the 'Visa Cashless Forum - Digital Azerbaijan' last week, Trend reports.
He also added that while the volume of transactions through mobile banking doubled, the volume of transactions through online banking in Azerbaijan increased by 12 percent in 2023 compared to 2022.
During his speech, the official stressed that the formation of a competitive payment ecosystem is among the priority strategic tasks of the CBA.
“Our key strategic directions in the payment sector also include increasing the availability of payment systems. This will expand financial inclusion in terms of payment options, increase the security of payment transactions, and create an adequate regulatory framework,” he emphasized.
During the above forum, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of Visa in Ukraine, Georgia, CIS, and Southeast Europe Cristina Doros said that the company sees a strategic partner in Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, Senior Director and Regional Manager of Visa in Azerbaijan Nurlan Hajiyev noted that the country's 14 banks support integration with Apple Pay and 15 banks with Google Pay.
Speaking at the mentioned forum, Director of Visa Direct Services in Central Asia and Azerbaijan Sanjar Suleymanov said that Azerbaijan stands out as one of Visa Direct's largest and fastest-evolving markets.
Besides, last week, the director of Azerbaijan's Caucasus Ventures fund Mammad Karim noted that the fund has so far invested about $1.2 million in startups.
"At present, the investment volume of our fund is about $1.2 million, distributed among 18 startups, half of which are of Azerbaijani origin. It is important to note that not all of these businesses are located directly in Azerbaijan, but their founders and evaluators are from this country. According to forecasts, by the end of this year, our fund plans to expand its investment portfolio to 24-25 projects, thus confirming its strategy of active investment in innovative initiatives," he emphasized.
Azerbaijani AccessBank's Management Board Member and Executive Director of Corporate, SME, and Retail Banking Ilkin Guliyev said that the bank considers the possibility of creating its own processing center.
"In fact, we have all the necessary resources and competencies to develop our own processing center. Everything depends on the effectiveness of this issue,” he emphasized.
Chairman of the Board of AccessBank David Tsiklauri pointed out that the bank is in the process of signing with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to open new credit lines, which will consist of three key components.
"The first element is the main credit line aimed at supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), traditionally financed by AccessBank. The second is a risk-sharing facility, a joint program with the EBRD to finance large projects, expanding the bank's capabilities to support substantial initiatives. The third component is trade finance, designed to promote international trade financing," he emphasized.
According to him, special attention is given to products focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, highlighting the bank's role in promoting sustainable development principles in the business environment.
The head of the Innovation Ecosystem Department at the Innovation and Digital Development Agency (IDDA) under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Yevgeniya Bikmurzina spoke about the details of the creation of the second venture fund in Azerbaijan.
"In addition to investing in local startups, the venture fund also directs its investments to startups from the region, strengthening Azerbaijan's position on the investment map. Foreign startups are showing increasing interest in Azerbaijan, seeking investments from our venture fund. To improve this situation, we plan additional investments of $10 million in the next venture funds. This could be the creation of one fund or several, both local and global or regional funds, where we will act as LP [limited partner].
These venture funds will also direct investments both into Azerbaijani startups and into global startups founded or co-founded by Azerbaijanis," she added.