BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Interchange tariffs applied between participants of payment systems were amended in Azerbaijan, Trend reports via the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).
By Decision No. 12/1 of the CBA Management Board dated March 18, 2026, the upper limit of interchange (service fee tariffs) applied between participants of payment systems was approved, and at the same time, the interchange tariffs applied in payments under the Instant Payments System (IPS) were aligned with the upper limits of interchange determined for payment cards.
According to the amendments, the upper limits of interchange on payment cards have been reduced by 0.25% points in the areas of activity of the relevant economic entities compared to the currently valid tariffs. The main goal is to reduce the costs of acquirers and create conditions for reducing the service fee applied to economic entities for accepting non-cash payments.
Through QR code-based payments processed through IPS, it is aimed to reduce the costs of economic entities related to accepting non-cash payments, increase accessibility to payment services, and expand the scope of application of account-based payments. Increasing the use of QR code payments will create a basis for the formation of alternative payment solutions and ultimately increase their competitiveness in the payment market.
In general, when regulating interchange tariffs by the CBA, the interests of both economic entities, issuers and acquirers, are taken into account, and a balanced policy is applied by optimizing the costs of accepting non-cash payments.
The amendments to the IPS service fee tariffs will come into effect from May 1, 2026, and the approved interchange limits for payment cards will come into effect from June 1, 2026.
The IPS service fee rates that will be applied from May 1, 2026, can be found at: https://uploads.cbar.az/assets/a3b39b3d77cd0dc2253dbc7ae.pdf
The decision on the "Upper limit of interchange applied between participants of payment systems" can be found at: https://uploads.cbar.az/assets/90fe3b6961dc76e51b45b9176.pdf