Digital Payments & Fintech · Azerbaijan
Fintech & digital payments rules in Azerbaijan (2026)
Azerbaijan shaded by its digital payments & fintech status
Azerbaijan operates a dedicated, in-force licensing regime for digital payments and fintech under the 2023 Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems, with the Central Bank (CBAR) as the sole licensing and supervisory authority. Payment institutions and electronic-money (e-money) institutions must hold a CBAR licence (issued for an indefinite term), and several have already been licensed. CBAR also operates the national instant-payment rails and is actively rolling out an open-banking framework, while BNPL has no dedicated standalone regime.
Key points
Law No. 987-VIQ 'On Payment Services and Payment Systems' was adopted on 14 July 2023 and entered into force on 9 November 2023, with a compliance/licensing alignment deadline of 14 April 2024. It governs payment institutions, e-money institutions, payment system operators, banks and non-bank credit institutions.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan regulates payment services and issues licences to payment institutions and e-money institutions; such licences are granted for an indefinite period.
CBAR has issued perpetual e-money institution licences under the new law — including to Mpay CJSC and Paysis LLC (11 July 2024), Azwallet LLC and Baku Pay — confirming the regime is operational, not merely on paper.
Foreign payment institutions, e-money institutions and payment-system operators wishing to operate in Azerbaijan must do so through branch offices and obtain CBAR licensing; only locally authorised e-money is recognised.
CBAR operates the Instant Payment System (IPS) for 24/7 retail transfers (settled in ~5–20 seconds via phone/email identifiers) alongside the AZIPS RTGS system, built on the ISO 20022 standard; transaction volumes grew strongly through 2025.
CBAR approved 'Requirements for network channels used between payment service providers for payment initiation and account information services' on 10 December 2024 and developed an Open Banking Manual defining API/interface standards, under the 2024–2026 Financial Sector Development Strategy; a regulatory sandbox is also in place. No dedicated BNPL-specific regime currently exists.
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