BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 4. Banks haven’t applied a general restrictive limit on card transactions in Azerbaijan, President of the Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA), Zakir Nuriyev, told reporters on the sidelines of a tree-planting campaign held in Mushfigabad to mark Victory Day on Wednesday, November 4, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
According to him, the banking sector is not a venue for conducting illicit operations, and financial transactions must be carried out within the framework of established rules.
He said that the existing limits are intended to maintain the same minimum requirements for all banks, ensure the security of financial transactions, and ensure compliance with legislative requirements.
The ABA president noted that the limits are adjusted individually, taking into account customers' justified needs.
"The goal here is not to obstruct customers' normal financial transactions. Each customer's needs are taken into account. At the same time, the banking system must not be used to conduct illegal transactions. Naturally, those who previously carried out illegal activities through unauthorized card transactions are no longer satisfied with these limits. If they cannot operate within these limits and are dissatisfied, they should bear in mind that the banking sector isn't a platform for conducting illegal transactions," he emphasized.
At the end of September, the number of payment cards in circulation across the systems of banks and Azerpost LLC increased by 414,000 compared to the previous month, reaching about 23.39 million. This figure was up 9.5% compared to the same period last year. The number of debit cards increased by 11%, while the number of credit cards decreased by 3.9%.
Since the beginning of the year, the volume of domestic cashless transactions has increased by 11.7% compared to the same period last year. In September 2026, the volume of domestic cashless payments made using cards amounted to over 8.97 billion manat ($5.28 billion).
Of the total cashless payments, 7.75 billion manat ($4.56 billion) accounted for e-commerce transactions. Of the remaining amount, 1.22 billion manat ($717.6 million) was processed through POS terminals, while 2 million manat ($1.18 million) was processed through self-service terminals and ATMs.
Since the beginning of the year, the volume of domestic cashless transactions made using payment cards has accounted for 69.7% of total domestic card transactions.
The number of ATMs in the payment service networks of banks and Azerpost LLC decreased by 0.2%, while the number of POS terminals fell by 4.6% compared to the end of August this year.
