Banker: Turnover of non-cash funds in Azerbaijan amounts to $3.5bn

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan's Banks Association President Zakir Nuriyev has said that the turnover of non-cash funds in the country amounted to AZN 6 billion ($3.5bn) in January-April 2022.

He made the remarks during the fintech summit in Baku on June 16, Azernews reports.

Nuriyev stated that 75 percent of non-cash payments fell on transactions, adding that the payments' share in the total turnover made up 40 percent.

"The number of bank cards this year increased by two million and reached almost 12 million," he said.

He noted that the opportunity to open bank accounts and cards online without visiting a bank office was created in Azerbaijan. The association’s head added that such a trend as neo-banks, that is, digital banks, is developing in the world.

"In the first four months, banking assets in Azerbaijan amounted to AZN 40 billion ($23.5bn)," he said.

Moreover, Central Bank's Executive Director Farid Osmanov stated that the bank has implemented major projects in order to expand non-cash payments and this work continues. He noted that as of June 1 this year, 12.4 million bank cards were registered in the country, which is 20 percent more compared to the same period of 2021.

"Non-cash payments increased by 2.1 times - up to AZN 8.1 billion ($4.7bn), and growth in the total turnover amounted to 12 percent. Besides, AZN6 billion ($3.5bn) accounted for e-commerce," he said.

Osmanov added that in accordance with the bank's roadmap until 2025, it’s planned to expand cooperation with fintech projects and adopt a number of laws in this area by the end of this year.