Afət Ziyadqızı
Card-to-card transfers in Azerbaijan totaled 48 billion manats in the first nine months of this year. The total reached 66 billion manats last year.
“Operative Information Center-OMM” reports that Central Bank of Azerbaijan Chairman Taleh Kazimov made the remarks at a news conference on the bank’s monetary policy decision.
He said banks had introduced limits on card-to-card transactions in view of their high volume and the risk that the transfers could be used for illegal purposes.
Kazimov said customers who need to exceed the monthly limit of 20,000 manats or the daily limit of five incoming transfers can contact their bank and explain the nature of their transactions. Limits may be raised following a substantiated request. The same approach applies to obtaining an additional card under a single card product.
Kazimov said the requirements are intended not to obstruct legitimate transactions, but to prevent tax evasion and other illegal activities.
He said cases had been observed in which people obtained cards in the names of elderly people and pensioners in exchange for payment, then used them for illegal activities. There had also been cases of individuals obtaining several cards under the same card product and splitting transaction volumes among them.
The central bank chairman also addressed concerns that the limits could shift transactions from the banking system into cash circulation. He said observations had not confirmed such a shift and noted that cash withdrawals fell in September compared with August.
