Azerbaijan launches joint ATM network of commercial banks

4 December 2020 17:42 (UTC+04:00)

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Azerbaijan has created a ‘joint network of ATMs’ widely used in international practice, using the capabilities of the Interbank Card Center, operated by the country’s Central Bank (CBA), with the aim of expanding financial inclusion, Trend reports referring to the CBA.

The local banks (AccessBank and Yapi Kredi Bank Azerbaijan CJSCs, AFB Bank, Azer-Turk Bank, Bank of Baku, Expressbank, Gunay Bank, TuranBank, Unibank, Yelo Bank and Ziraat Bank Azerbaijan OJSCs) and Azerpocht LLC signed an agreement on the joint use of existing ATM networks.

As a result, customers of the mentioned banks will be able to use the ‘joint ATM network’ of 500 ATMs on more favorable terms. The created ‘network’ will help to optimize the costs of banks for the network of ATMs with the purpose of providing customers with more affordable financial services.

As reported, in the future it’s planned to expand the coverage of the ‘ATM network’ and connect other banks to this network, as well. At the same time, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan will carry out regular measures aimed at making fees for paid services more accessible to consumers and businesses.

In the early October of the current year within the state program on the expansion of digital payments in Azerbaijan for 2018-2020, approved by the Azerbaijani president’s decree of September 26, 2018, the instant real-time payment system (AOS) was commissioned in order to ensure the possibility of full completion of mutual settlements between individuals, business entities and state bodies.