Friday, March 1 2024 13:41

ArmInfo. In Armenia, the number of virtual terminals (vPOS) by 2024 reached 4,518 thousand, of which  over 51% or 2,322 thousand are used in points of trade, catering and services.

Increase in the number of vPOSs by 22% or 815 units in 2023 and  ordinary post-terminals (POS) by 17% or 11.668 thousand, is fully  explained by the legislative restriction on cash transactions  introduced in July 2022, by data from the Central Bank of the  Republic of Armenia.

Thus, by January 1, 2024, 48.967 thousand POSs (including 1.875  thousand vPOS) were used at wholesale and retail trade points  (supermarkets, shops, markets, fairs), with a y-o-y growth of 14.5%  or by 6.194 thousand. At the same time, the number of ATMs at these  facilities is also growing, but at a more restrained pace - by 8.3%  or by 44 pcs, the number of which is already 572. In parallel, banks  are optimizing both the ATM and POS networks in their branches (61  ATMs and 97 POSs were dismantled), but this  is not the case foe  vPOSs.

In total, by 2024 the number of POSs in Armenia reaches 85.074  thousand, of which 80.556 thousand are ordinary POS- terminals.  Moreover, 691 POSs are installed in the head offices and branches of  banks,(including 95 vPOSs), while at points of trade,  catering/services (hotels, restaurants, cafes, bistros), medical  service points (hospitals, dental clinics, pharmacies) 60.980 POSs  are installed (including 2.433 thousand vPOSs).

By 2024, t 1,569 thousand ATMs are installed in Armenia, with a y-o-y  reduction of 4.2% or 68pcs. Of these, 982 ATMs are installed in the  capital, and 587 ATMs in the regions, with a y-o-y decrease in both  capital and region, respectively, by 6pcs and 6pcs. Notably, the  number of regional ATMs sharply decreased by 53pcs at the end of the  third quarter, which is associated with the September events of 2023  in Artsakh, which resulted in the forced displacement of Artsakh  residents, and some banks suffered material and non-material damage  as a result of this, and for Artsakhbank, the damage was enormous:  almost all branches, ATMs and post offices were affected.

The Central Bank's report also indicates the number of payment  terminals - 11,135 thousand, of which 5,294 thousand were installed  in the capital, and 5,841 thousand in the regions. Moreover, only 721  payment terminals are installed in banks. Most of them, 10.41 pcs,  were installed in large shopping centers, busy streets of the capital  and regions.

According to the data of the Central Bank, as of January 1, 2024, the  number of cards reaches more than 3.7 million (with a y-o-y growth of  17%), and the volume of plastic transactions (including transactions  abroad on cards of Armenian issuing banks) for the reporting year  amounted to 6.3 trillion drams ( y-o-y growth of 43.2%). For the  second year in a row, the accelerating growth of plastic transactions  is due to the high activity of transactions through POSs, especially  vPOSs. This, in turn, made the volume of non-cash card transactions  dominant. This is due to the legal restriction of cash transactions  since July 2022.