Card-to-card transfers in Azerbaijan reached 48 billion manats in the first nine months of 2026, while the Central Bank said current limits are intended to reduce the use of personal cards for tax evasion and other illegal activity.
Central Bank Chairman Taleh Kazimov disclosed the figure at a news conference on the latest monetary-policy decision. Card-to-card turnover totaled 66 billion manats during all of 2025.
When a Bank May Raise the Limit
The current risk-based system permits no more than five incoming transfers per day and up to 20,000 manats per month through a single payment instrument. Transfers between a customer’s own accounts and accounts belonging to close relatives are excluded from those limits.
A customer who needs a higher limit may apply to the bank and explain the economic purpose of the transactions. If the need is substantiated, the bank may raise the limit or issue an additional card for the same product.
Kazimov said the regulator had identified cases in which cards were opened in the names of elderly people and pensioners in return for payment and then used for illegal transactions. The restrictions are designed to make such schemes more difficult without blocking verified legitimate transfers.
Cashless Transactions Continue to Grow
The Central Bank said it had not seen evidence that the limits were driving a broad return to cash: cash withdrawals in September were lower than in August.
By the end of September, turnover in the national payment system had reached 862 billion manats, an increase of 46%. Domestic card transactions totaled 64.6 billion manats, up 8% from a year earlier, while cashless payments accounted for 69% of that turnover.
Source: Vesti Baku.