The Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA) and the Azerbaijan Fintech Association (AzFina) have reached an agreement on the application of a risk-based approach to deposit operations on payment instruments in order to minimize the risks of misuse of the services of banks and electronic money institutions.
“Elchi” reports this with reference to the Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA).
“In recent years, significant progress has been observed in the development of the payment ecosystem and the expansion of non-cash settlements in Azerbaijan. As a result of consistent reforms implemented in the country, the expansion of digital financial services, and the introduction of innovative payment solutions, the volume and scope of non-cash payments are continuously increasing.
The modernization of payment infrastructure and the expansion of digital banking services also necessitate more effective management of risks in this area and increased attention to ensuring compliance with legislative requirements.
Taking the above into account, the Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA) and the Azerbaijan Fintech Association (AzFina) have reached an agreement on the application of a risk-based approach to deposit operations on payment instruments in order to minimize the risks of misuse of the services of banks and electronic money institutions.
According to the mentioned approach, it is envisaged that for each payment instrument belonging to payment service users, a maximum of 5 deposit operations per day and a maximum of 20,000 manats per month can be carried out. In this context, it is also intended that banks and electronic money institutions will provide payment service users with only one payment instrument for any financial service product linked to each of their accounts. We would like to emphasize that at the current stage, no limits are planned to be applied to withdrawal operations on payment instruments.
As noted above, this approach is risk-based and does not intend to restrict legitimate deposit operations of customers. Thus, deposit operations on payment instruments belonging to bank and electronic money institution customers themselves and their close relatives are excluded from the application of the mentioned limits. At the same time, the application of limits is not intended in cases where the necessary information about the operations carried out by customers is provided and those operations correspond to the customers’ risk profile. Similarly, if appropriate justifications are provided by payment service users, banks and electronic money institutions will ensure that they are provided with necessary additional payment instruments.
ABA and AzFina reiterate that the mentioned approach will not create any additional restrictions or difficulties for payment service users with sound payment transaction practices and will not negatively affect their daily operations. Payment service users will continue to perform their payment operations by using the advantages of digital payments, including the POS-terminal infrastructure installed at business entities and electronic banking services in the traditional way,” the statement said.