Azerbaijan, Russia expand 'transaction corridor'
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijani national postal operator Azerpost LLC and Russian money transfer system Migom held a joint press conference on the development of Russia-Azerbaijan "transaction corridor" in Baku on Tuesday.
Novruz Mammadov, Postal Sector Head of the Azerbaijani Communication and Information Technologies Ministry, said Azerbaijan carries out money transfers with the other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, mostly with Russia.
"The share of the money transfers between Azerbaijan and CIS countries makes up 90-95 percent," he said.
According to Mammadov, notwithstanding the world economic crisis, last year was marked with economic growth in Azerbaijan, which reflects upon the population's income.
The Russia-Azerbaijan transaction corridor had a turnover of $948 million in the first three quarters of 2012.
Azerpost was granted a limited banking license in April 2010. In May 2012, Azerbaijan signed a contract with Migom on carrying out money transfers, Mammadov noted.
Azerpost with its offices around the country makes the Migom services more available even in distant areas.
Currently, more than 200 Azerpost offices provide the Migom services. In the future, they will be available essentially in every post office of the country, he noted.
Natalya Karachevceva, Migom chief executive, spoke about innovations the company plans to introduce in Azerbaijan.
"We plan to create a single payment ground around the country by integrating all the distribution channels in it, which will significantly increase the convenience and accessibility for the population," Karachevceva said.
According to her, 400 post offices will be able to provide Migom services by the summer.
"Presently, [the number of] Migom service points amounts to 600 in Azerbaijan, including banks," Karachevceva said.
According to Karachevceva, Azerbaijan will soon become the Migom leading partner in the Caucasus region.
Using the Migom services enables the Azerbaijani population to transfer to and receive money from 27 countries in a minute.
Azerpost was established in 1999 and received the status of national postal operator in 2004.