BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 29. The monthly turnover
of Azerbaijan’s instant payment system has exceeded 1 billion manat
($588.2 million), Afghan Abbasov, Director of the Department for
Payment Systems and Products Development at the Central Bank of
Azerbaijan (CBA), told reporters on the sidelines of “Digital
Financial Agenda of Azerbaijan” event in Baku, Trend's correspondent reports
from the event.


“The CBA continues to implement a number of projects to develop
the payment infrastructure, with a special focus on improving the
instant payment system. Together with banks and fintech companies,
the CBA is rolling out projects covering peer-to-peer transfers,
AzQR payments, government payments, and settlements through the
instant payment system.


Today, the monthly turnover of the instant payment system
already exceeds 1 billion manats ($588.2 million). Compared to the
same period last year, this figure has increased more than
threefold,” he said.


He noted that the Central Bank plans to further expand the use
of the system, including through the development of QR payments,
onboarding fintech companies via both direct and indirect
integration models, and integrating the system into e-commerce.


According to Abbasov, work is also underway to develop
international integrations of the instant payment system.


Commenting on cooperation with fintech companies, he said that
both direct and indirect connection models have already been
developed for integration into the system.


“Each integration model has its own parameters and features.
Fintech companies choose the model that best fits their business,
complete the required integration, and can then operate through the
instant payment system. This enables faster and more efficient
operations.







The Central Bank is actively promoting the use of AzQR payments.
Issuing banks have already enabled AzQR payments in their mobile
applications. Several fintech companies have also implemented this
functionality, while others are continuing integration.


In addition, AzQR is already supported by a significant share of
POS terminal networks, allowing users of both bank and fintech
mobile apps to make payments seamlessly,” he said.


He added that the number of AzQR transactions this month has
approached 40 million, with annual growth exceeding 30-fold.


Responding to a question about AzQR’s impact on international
card payment systems, the CBA representative said AzQR serves as an
alternative payment method.


“Its use depends on customer choice and habits. For businesses
and acquiring banks, it offers certain advantages — lower fees and
near-instant settlement,” he added.