The Central Bank of Armenia has decided to cap the fees that banks charge entrepreneurs for cashless payments. Starting March 1, the maximum rate for cards of the national payment system ArCa will be 0.5%, and for international cards, 0.9%. The regulator took this step after numerous complaints from businesses about excessive fees.
Until now, card acceptance fees in Armenia often reached 1–4%, which, in the view of entrepreneurs, seriously slowed the transition to cashless trade and forced businesses to keep using cash payments. The new restrictions are expected to reduce companies' costs and make card acceptance more beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses.
The Central Bank estimates the banking system's losses at about 2 billion drams, or around $5 million. At the same time, the regulator expects that lower fees will accelerate the spread of cashless payments and, in the long term, be offset by increased turnover and a higher number of transactions.