15 April 2026, Baku: The Central Bank’s Management Board, in Decision No. 12/1 dated 18 March 2026, approved revised upper limits on interchange fees applied between payment system participants. The changes also align interchange fees for transactions conducted through the Instant Payments System (IPS) with the caps established for payment cards.

Under the revised framework, interchange fee caps for payment cards have been reduced by 0.25 percentage points across relevant merchant categories compared with previous levels. The adjustment is intended to lower merchants’ costs for accepting cashless payments by reducing fees borne by acquirers.

The measures are also aimed at expanding the use of QR code-based payments processed through the IPS, reducing merchant payment acceptance costs, improving access to payment services, and broadening the scope of account-based transactions. Wider use of QR is expected to support the development of alternative payment solutions and increase competition in the payments market.

The policy balances the interests of merchants and payment service providers, including issuers and acquirers, while optimizing overall costs in the cashless payments ecosystem.

The updated IPS service fee tariffs will take effect on 1 May 2026, while the revised interchange fee caps for payment cards will come into force on 1 June 2026.

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