Azerbaijan Banks Association сomments on reports of restrictions on debit card issuance

The Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA) has issued a statement regarding the risk-based approach applied to the number of payment cards and payment accounts linked to electronic money.

According to Report, the statement says that under the approach adopted by the Association, each bank is to provide one payment card per product, except for payment cards intended for salaries, pensions and other social benefits, as well as cards linked to business and deposit accounts.

It should be noted that banks may freely provide customers with additional payment cards for the same product if the customer provides the bank with a reasonable explanation of the purpose of using the payment card, the transactions carried out are consistent with the information the bank has about the payment service user, and there is confidence that the card will not be used for illegal purposes.

"Thus, the main purpose of this approach is not to restrict the needs of payment service users, but to contribute to the creation of a safe, sustainable and healthy payment ecosystem while ensuring more effective risk management," the statement said.