The Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the International Finance Corporation signed cooperation agreement on expansion of digital payment services

11-08-2020

August 11, 2020, Baku: The Central Bank continues to implement a set of measures in the direction of activities carried out by the Central Bank within the “State Program on Expansion of Digital Payments in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2018-2020” approved by the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan No. 508 dated September 26, 2018. One of the crucial innovations in the CBA's activities is introducing new financial instruments to further increase the economy's access to financial services within the framework of the Central Bank's cooperation with international financial organizations.

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan has launched the implementation of Electronic and Digital Financial Services in Azerbaijan project with the support of the International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and signed a cooperation agreement with IFC to increase access to financial products and services, to create a framework for the access to financial resources in a more efficient and innovative way, and to enhanse financial inclusion of the population through agent networks on electronic and digital financial services.

The project envisions works on creating a regulatory framework for the availability of  banking products and services, developing a roadmap for the application of an open banking approach, the functioning of an Instant Payment System, as well as developing recommendations for legal acts on creating access to remotely identified banking products and services (opening a bank account, obtaining a loan). In the framework of the cooperation, it is also envisaged to create a dedicated regulatory testing regime that allows banks and businesses to test innovative financial services and products.

The project is expected to contribute to the development of financial services and payment systems in the country, expanding access to digital financial services with more efficient channels in remote areas resided by people with limited access to banking services, and thus, to provide a significant support to the development of the digital payment ecosystem in the country.