Several banks did not want to join: Pashinyan instructs to expand coverage of participants in 10% cashback program

ArmInfo. Since the introduction  of the 10% cashback program for pensioners and people receiving  benefits when paying with bank cards, from July 2022 to November  2023, Armenian pensioners have made non-cash purchases totaling 62  billion drams. Cashback amounted to 5.2 billion drams. Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan announced today at a meeting of the Cabinet of  Ministers.

By decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated May 19, 2022, a program  for the return of pensions and benefits for transactions using  non-cash payments was launched in Armenia on July 1. Beneficiaries of  the program making transactions with payment cards and payment  devices at retail outlets and service providers operating in Armenia  are reimbursed 10% until the 25th of the next month, but not more  than 5,000 drams. The refund also applies to utility bills. The  mechanism applies not only to ATMs, but also to utility payments  through the bank's electronic (mobile banking) application. VTB Bank  Armenia, Ardshinbank, ACBA Bank and ArmBusinessBank, Armeconombank  and Unibank have joined the program (cashback is paid equally by the  state and banks). At the time of the decision, it was envisaged that  the program would operate in pilot mode until December 31, 2022.  However, then the Armenian government decided to extend the program  until June 30, and then until December 31, 2023.

Nikol Pashinyan expressed bewilderment that a number of banks did not  want to join the program. "But this is a separate topic and we will  return to it separately," he pointed out.

The Prime Minister thanked the credit institutions participating in  the program, saying that starting next year the state budget will  fully cover these expenses. As a result, beneficiaries of the program  will not have to "emigrate" from bank to bank to become a participant  in the program, he noted.

"At this stage, out of more than 500 thousand pensioners, only about  165 thousand use cashback for non- cash purchases. The majority do  not participate in the program for some reason," Pashinyan  complained.  Having recorded that there are about 1 thousand  POS-terminals across the republic (implemented as part of the  initiative), through which <zero> transactions were carried out, he  instructed the responsible persons to study the issue. Because of  this, many pensioners are deprived of the opportunity to take  advantage of the program, he noted, emphasizing that from January the  authorities' expectations from the program will be revised. In this  context, he instructed Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek  Mkrtchyan to once again remind citizens about the program.