Azerbaijani citizens will have no cash life in near future

In 2015, in Azerbaijan will take place measures to limit the payment of certain goods and services in cash. This was recently announced in Parliament by the head of the Central Bank Elman Rustamov.
The central bank is likely to introduce a limit on cash transactions as in foreign countries: for example, in Spain it is impossible to make a purchase of something more than 2.5 thousand euros in cash, and in France the limit is set at around 3000.
One day I was talking with a top manager of the local representation of a large international organization, a foreigner, who said that over the years of work in the US and Europe he has never kept in the pocket more than $ 20-30. “Everything else was on the card, I had no need for paper money. Now everything is the opposite: the majority of the required amount I always crunches in my wallet,” – he said to me then. Hopefully, the situation has changed for the better and it is easier now. But the overall picture is well illustrated by this man.
The promotion of non-cash payments in Azerbaijan is not nearly as fast as CBA and the Ministry of Taxes would like to be.
There are two problems- this unscrupulous businesses and distrustful population. Businessmen understand that they cannot hide cashless transactions will from taxes: and so appears “non-performing POS-terminals”, “new staff, which is not yet able to accept card payments” and “network problems.” Citizens still see credit cards as a tool to withdraw money from ATMs, but not as a full-fledged tool of payment. The most of transactions by plastic cards in the country are cash withdrawals.
A major step forward was made for the citizens’ confidence and financial literacy thanks to branded credit cards. Yes, on the one hand their availability has meant that the central bank was forced to limit consumer loans, but on the other – thanks to these cards and their popularity understood that they can pay by cards.

The CBA understands that cash transactions must be gradually limited. Paper money supports the shadow economy. As it will be a deficit of cash, it is more difficult to pay wages in envelopes, implement unaccounted goods and avoid taxes.
Moreover, a better control of cash will allow the CBA successfully perform the monetary policy and a better control of inflation. When cash is “in the shadows”, to control the movement of the money flow becomes impossible. The return of money into the economy through non-cash payments will add liquidity to banks and will make the financial system more stable.
Several years ago, a street dealer in Tbilisi suggested me to pay by card for goods I bought. I was surprised. The old man smiled and said: “Such times are now.”
He was right. In Azerbaijan, the business, and ordinary citizens better understand how it is more convenient, safer and more profitable to work in non-cash mode. It can offer customers the possibility to save time and discount when shopping online. In return, the government gets more taxes and may apply tax reliefs and other encouraging non-cash measures.