Central Bank continues efforts to expand digital payments

12-03-2026

12 March 2026, Baku: As part of the implementation of the 2024–2026 Financial Sector Development Strategy, the Central Bank worked with public institutions, banks, fintech companies and international organizations throughout 2025 to expand the country’s cashless payment ecosystem. The efforts focused on promoting innovative payment technologies, encouraging wider use of digital payments and improving the infrastructure that supports them. Several nationwide projects were launched as part of this initiative.

The Central Bank also continued opening the payments market to new participants. Over the past year, it issued licenses to three electronic money institutions, two payment institutions and one payment operator. By the end of 2025, the market included 17 electronic money institutions, nine payment institutions and two operators.

Cashless payments accounted for 67.6% of domestic card transactions, up by 3.4 pp from the previous year. During 2025, one out of every two contactless payments made through POS terminals was completed using smart devices. The value of domestic cashless payments made with payment cards increased by 26% to AZN99.1B year-over-year.

Use of digital payments among salary and social card holders also increased. In 2025, 54.2% of payments made with salary cards were conducted without cash. For social cards, the share of cashless transactions grew steadily, rising by nine percentage points over the past three years to reach 20%.

Bank transfers continued to shift toward digital channels. In 2025, customers made 1060 million transfers from current accounts through both paper-based and digital banking channels, totaling AZN507.4B. Digital banking accounted for 94.4% of these transfers by number and 82.5% by value. Transfers through internet banking rose 12.4% year-over-year to AZN308.9B, while mobile banking transfers increased 14.3% to AZN73B.

Activity also expanded rapidly on the Instant Payment System (IPS), which enables account-based payments around the clock. The number of transactions carried out through the system increased 12.5 times compared with 2024, while the value of transactions rose by 90.1%. To support cheaper acceptance of digital payments, regulators introduced new requirements for QR code payments and established a unified national AZQR standard. In the second half of 2025, the number of QR code payments made through the IPS increased 6.2 times compared with the first half of the year, while the value of those payments rose 7.1 times. The unified QR standard will help reduce banking costs associated with cashless payments and make broader use of the country’s payment infrastructure possible.

Digital payments also expanded in public transportation. In 2025, a project enabling contactless payments for fares was rolled out across Baku’s public transport network. Passengers can now pay fares on all buses equipped with cashless payment systems as well as at every station of the Baku Metro using contactless bank cards or mobile devices. The system removes the need for traditional transport cards and allows riders to make quick, secure payments directly with their bank cards or smartphones. It also makes travel easier for visitors, who can now pay fares using internationally branded contactless cards instead of purchasing local transport cards.

The Central Bank will continue working with public institutions, banks, fintech firms and international partners to strengthen the legal and institutional framework for digital payments, expand infrastructure and broaden the range and quality of services available to users.