BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 2. The Central Bank
of Azerbaijan (CBA) has presented its projects on cross-border
payment integration at a roundtable held as part of the Tbilisi
Financial Summit 2026.
The roundtable, titled "Cross-Border Financial Innovation:
Defining What the Region Can Test Together", brought together
participants to discuss opportunities for regional cooperation in
financial innovation.
The CBA announced the development in a statement.
According to the statement, Sadiq Akhundov, the central bank's
chief executive director, took part in the roundtable.
Akhundov briefed participants on projects being implemented by
the CBA to integrate instant payment systems across borders,
upgrade payment infrastructure and expand financial innovation. He
also outlined opportunities for introducing a special regulatory
regime across participating countries and exchanged views with
other speakers on existing approaches.
Speaking about the importance of regional cooperation, Akhundov
said that expanding the exchange of expertise and joint initiatives
in financial innovation, the interoperability of payment systems
and the adoption of new technological solutions would help create a
more agile and accessible financial ecosystem across the
region.
CBA Governor Taleh Kazimov also identified the integration of
payment systems as one of the key areas of cooperation between
central banks at a news conference on October 29.
He said the goal was to make cross-border settlements faster and
less expensive.
"Our main expectation is that we will integrate our payment
systems within a short period of time and thereby encourage cheaper
payments between these countries," Kazimov said.
The CBA governor added that cooperation also covered the
development of instant payment infrastructure and the mutual
recognition of QR code standards.
