ArmInfo. In Armenia, the number of virtual terminals (vPOS) by 2024 reached 4,518 thousand, of which over 51% or 2,322 thousand are used in points of trade, catering and services.
Increase in the number of vPOSs by 22% or 815 units in 2023 and ordinary post-terminals (POS) by 17% or 11.668 thousand, is fully explained by the legislative restriction on cash transactions introduced in July 2022, by data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia.
Thus, by January 1, 2024, 48.967 thousand POSs (including 1.875 thousand vPOS) were used at wholesale and retail trade points (supermarkets, shops, markets, fairs), with a y-o-y growth of 14.5% or by 6.194 thousand. At the same time, the number of ATMs at these facilities is also growing, but at a more restrained pace - by 8.3% or by 44 pcs, the number of which is already 572. In parallel, banks are optimizing both the ATM and POS networks in their branches (61 ATMs and 97 POSs were dismantled), but this is not the case foe vPOSs.
In total, by 2024 the number of POSs in Armenia reaches 85.074 thousand, of which 80.556 thousand are ordinary POS- terminals. Moreover, 691 POSs are installed in the head offices and branches of banks,(including 95 vPOSs), while at points of trade, catering/services (hotels, restaurants, cafes, bistros), medical service points (hospitals, dental clinics, pharmacies) 60.980 POSs are installed (including 2.433 thousand vPOSs).
By 2024, t 1,569 thousand ATMs are installed in Armenia, with a y-o-y reduction of 4.2% or 68pcs. Of these, 982 ATMs are installed in the capital, and 587 ATMs in the regions, with a y-o-y decrease in both capital and region, respectively, by 6pcs and 6pcs. Notably, the number of regional ATMs sharply decreased by 53pcs at the end of the third quarter, which is associated with the September events of 2023 in Artsakh, which resulted in the forced displacement of Artsakh residents, and some banks suffered material and non-material damage as a result of this, and for Artsakhbank, the damage was enormous: almost all branches, ATMs and post offices were affected.
The Central Bank's report also indicates the number of payment terminals - 11,135 thousand, of which 5,294 thousand were installed in the capital, and 5,841 thousand in the regions. Moreover, only 721 payment terminals are installed in banks. Most of them, 10.41 pcs, were installed in large shopping centers, busy streets of the capital and regions.
According to the data of the Central Bank, as of January 1, 2024, the number of cards reaches more than 3.7 million (with a y-o-y growth of 17%), and the volume of plastic transactions (including transactions abroad on cards of Armenian issuing banks) for the reporting year amounted to 6.3 trillion drams ( y-o-y growth of 43.2%). For the second year in a row, the accelerating growth of plastic transactions is due to the high activity of transactions through POSs, especially vPOSs. This, in turn, made the volume of non-cash card transactions dominant. This is due to the legal restriction of cash transactions since July 2022.
