IV International Banking Forum Cashless Economy: Towards Sustainable Banking was held in Baku from November 6 to 7. The event was called one of the most anticipated and significant events in regional banking and financial industries. This year it was dedicated to the current economic situation in Azerbaijan, reforms implemented in the country, transition to a cashless economy and trends in banking and financial technologies that affect the situation in the country.

Every year the number of participants grows. This time, the Banking Forum brought together in Baku the local banking community of Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of the banking industry from Turkey, Georgia, Russia, China and the European Union. The forum participants discussed the process of Azerbaijan’s transition to cashless payments, the necessary conditions for this and the opportunities that this transition opens up for the country's economy. Banks and companies in fintech shared their experience in improving customer experience in the adaptation of cashless payments in Azerbaijan. 

An exhibition of innovative solutions for the banking sector was held in Baku as a part of the Forum. BS/2 presented their software products, which expand the capabilities of ATMs: a solution for accepting payments on self-service devices Payments.iQ, a platform for exchanging money through ATMs FCX.iQ, the new Face Detection module of the ATMeye.iQ solution, which is based on biometrics, and a new solution for withdrawing cash using mobile devices. The demonstrated products attracted great interest from the banking community. Exhibitors highly praised the opportunities that BS/2 solutions provide for the development of the banking business.

“For us, the banking forum in Baku is, first of all, the opportunity to communicate with our partners in the region, to show how our solutions work, and how they can be useful to financial institutions and their clients. The representatives of the largest banks in Azerbaijan visited our booth. We highly appreciate our cooperation and always offer our partners only the best solutions based on the latest technologies,“ says Kornelijus Šišla, Head of BS/2 Strategic Partnership.

“Today the economy of Azerbaijan is one of the fastest-growing in the region, - says director of BS/2 Azerbaijan (BSKOM) Ilgar Hasanov. – For a long time, cash was of great importance here, but in recent years, the situation has changed. A cashless economy develops rapidly, causing quick implementation of latest technologies and solutions in the banking sector and an influx of new payment aggregators, payment systems, new vendors and solution providers in the country. The sphere of Internet banking and mobile payments develops tremendously. Our mission in Azerbaijan, as we see it, is to implement new modern functionality on self-service devices, to develop existing acquiring networks.

The Banking Forum in Baku was supported by Azerbaijan Banks Association, Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Financial Markets Supervision Authority of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication. BS/2 was one of the general sponsors of the event.