The Central Bank launched the Instant Payment System in real mode

02-10-2020

1 October 2020, Baku: Within the framework of the “State Program on Expansion of Digital Payments in the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2018-2020”, approved by the              Decree #508 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated 26 September 2018, the Instant Payment System (IPS) developed by the Central Bank was launched in real mode with the aim of ensuring the opportunity of full completion of mutual transactions conducted between individuals, businesses and state agencies in the country in the regime 24/7/365 within 5-10 seconds.

From 1 October 2020, banks integrated into the IPS, as well as their internet and mobile banking services introduced the registration, inter-account transfer and payment functions for the population. Application of the above-mentioned functions allowed to make settlements between individuals and legal entities, as well as government agencies through bank accounts via simplified identifiers (FIN, TIN, mobile phone number, e-mail). Users can carry out the above-mentioned transactions on IPS using the Internet and mobile banking services of the participating banks integrated into the system, as well as by contacting the respective bank branches.

At present, the State Treasury Agency of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Azerbaijan, International Bank of Azerbaijan OJSC, Kapital Bank OJSC, Unibank CB OJSC, Yapi Kredi Bank Azerbaijan CJSC, Premium Bank OJSC, Muganbank OJSC, Bank Eurasia OJSC, Expressbank OJSC, AFB Bank OJSC, Gunay Bank OJSC, Nakhchivanbank OJSC, Ziraat Bank Azerbaijan OJSC and Baku Branch of Melli Iran Bank  are integrated into the IPS. IPS services are provided by International Bank of Azerbaijan OJSC, Unibank CB OJSC, Yapi Kredi Bank Azerbaijan CJSC, Expressbank OJSC through their branch network, as well as internet and mobile banking, and by other banks only through branch network for initial stage.

In order to involve the population and business entities in the more active use of the system, the Central Bank will not charge service fees until 1 July 2021 in connection with the operations provided by the Central Bank.

It should be noted that the measures taken by the Central Bank to expand the scope and increase the functional capacity of the IPS will be continued. By the end of this year, the system's mobile application and website will be launched in real time, as well as the features that enable small businesses to accept cashless payments using technological solutions such as QR code and NFC. At the same time, payments for about 600 services provided by institutions integrated into the Government Payment Portal created by the Central Bank for the centralized collection of taxes, duties, rent and other budget payments, as well as payments for utilities, communications and other public services, will be provided through IPS.