BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 24. The Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA) has clarified public inquiries regarding the risk-based approach applied to the number of payment cards and payment accounts linked to electronic money, a source in the ABA told Trend.
According to the ABA, the current approach stipulates that—with the exception of payment cards intended for salaries, pensions, and other social benefits, as well as those linked to business or deposit accounts—each bank may issue one payment card in the national currency and one in each foreign currency for every specific payment card product it offers.
"This means a customer can obtain a separate payment card for each distinct card product offered by the bank. The same approach applies to foreign currencies," the ABA said.
According to the association, regarding payment accounts linked to electronic money, the baseline approach allows for two accounts in the national currency and one account for each foreign currency.
The ABA pointed out that these limits serve as a baseline and are applied within the framework of a risk-based approach; therefore, they aren’t absolute or rigid.
"Banks or electronic money institutions may increase these limits for a specific payment service user if the user provides a reasonable explanation regarding the intended use of the payment account linked to a payment card or electronic money, if the transactions align with the information the institution holds about the user, and if there is assurance that the account is not being used for illegal purposes," the statement emphasized.
The ABA said that the primary objective of this approach is not to restrict the needs of payment service users.
"The main goal is to contribute to the creation of a safe, resilient, and sound payment ecosystem while ensuring more effective risk management," the Azerbaijan Banks Association added.
New limits on cash-in transactions for payment instruments have also been implemented in Azerbaijan as of August 1. Under the current rules, a maximum of five cash-in transactions per day is permitted for each payment instrument, and a monthly cash-in limit of 20,000 manat ($11,760) has been established. These restrictions don’t apply to cash withdrawal transactions.
Based on the Central Bank of Azerbaijan’s data as of the end of July, the number of payment cards in circulation through the banking system and Azerpost LLC increased by 8.9%, reaching 22.78 million cards. The number of debit cards increased by 10.5%, while the number of credit cards decreased by 4.6%. Since the beginning of the year, the volume of domestic non-cash transactions has increased by 13.9% compared to the same period last year. In July 2026, the volume of domestic non-cash payments made via cards totaled 9.7 billion manat ($5.7 billion). Of the total volume of non-cash payments, 8.45 billion manat ($4.9 billion) was attributed to e-commerce, 1.25 billion manat ($0.74 billion) to POS terminals, and 2 million manat ($1.1 million) to transactions via self-service terminals and ATMs. Since the beginning of the year, the volume of domestic non-cash transactions using payment cards has accounted for 69.8% of the total volume of domestic card transactions.
Dynamic growth is being observed in the payment service networks of banks and Azerpost LLC. Specifically, compared to the end of July last year, the number of ATMs has increased by 4.4%, and the number of POS terminals by 12.1%.
