Areximbank – Gazprombank Group to issue chip cards till yearend

PanARMENIAN.Net - Areximbank – Gazprombank Group will complete the preparation for issuing chip cards by the end of 2011.

“Chip cards are the demand of time from the security viewpoint. Currently, we are in the process of certification with Visa and MasterCard and issuing is expected at the end of the year,” Deputy director general of Areximbank CJSC, Ruben Khachartyan said.

“The credit card business in Armenia has been rapidly developing over the recent years. A whole range of modern services was introduced to improve the field. Cashless payments are becoming an inseparable part of life in the country and I'm confident that the tendency will persist, given the number of the issued cards and the amount of transactions,” he said.

Presently, the bank services about 25 thousand cards and expects that the number of issued cards will grow by 30%. Clients can also order cards online and get their cards 3 days after the order.

The number of bank’s transactions increased by 100% against the 2009 data to total AMD 40 billion. The number of transactions conducted through ATMs grew by 50%. The total amount of ATM transactions totaled AMD 4.8 billion in the Q1 2011 against AMD 3.8 billion in the same period in 2010. The total amount of transactions conducted through credit cards in Q1 2011 comprised AMD 9.3 billion against AMD 7.96 billion in 2010. The number of cards issued by the bank in Q1 2011 increased by 24-25%.

Areximbank – Gazprombank Group was founded in 1988, with Gazprombank as the only shareholder Since the beginning of 2011, the bank is an issuer of local payment system - ArCa, - and issuing will start in the near future. Thus, Areximbank - Gazprombank Group will become a full member of three payments systems - Visa, MasterCard and ArCa, with a permission to issue cards.