By Trend

Within the memorandum between MasterCard and the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), it is planned to widen cooperation in the field of digital payments by 2025, General Manager of Mastercard in Azerbaijan and Turkiye Avsar Gurdal told Trend.

According to him, the digitalization of payments is one of the strategic plans of almost all countries.

"The cash and its turnover control create additional costs for the country. While digitalizing the payments, we increase transparency and tax revenues, as well as facilitate turnover and control. Within the signed document with the Azerbaijani bank, it is planned to increase the cashless payment acceptance points including in taxis, small cafes, and restaurants," said Gurdal.

"Moreover, in cooperation with CBA, we aim to increase the number of contactless bank cards. Today, the number of bank cards in Azerbaijan exceeds 12 million (more than 70 percent of which are contactless). The emission of contactless and digital bank cards and the increase of their number in turnover contribute to the acceleration of payment digitalization. There is work underway in this direction," he added.

He said that the initiatives implemented by the parties create a basis for widening the cooperation with small and medium business entities, as well as for supporting innovative companies in the financial sector.