ArmInfo. VTB Bank (Armenia) became the winner in the nomination "The first contactless cards in Armenia" at the "Innovation Award" forum organized by the international payment system MasterCard. According to the press service of the bank, in 2017, VTB Bank (Armenia) was the first in the Armenian market to issue and service contactless cards MasterCard PayPass, so that cashless payment can be made with just one touch of the card to the terminal with the logo PayPass (wave) in the trade -service points not only in Armenia, but all over the world.
The technology of contactless payments PayPass is one of the most modern, fast, affordable and reliable ways of making card payments. The advantages of contactless MasterCard PayPass cards are safety, convenience, and speed.
According to the source, to make payment, you do not need to transfer the card to the cashier; The cardholder fully controls the payment process, thus protecting the data of his card and preventing the risk of possible fraud. In particular, paying for purchases with a contactless card is very simple - you just need to bring the card to a POS terminal equipped with the ability to read contactless cards, and within a second payment will be made. Purchases are paid instantly in one-touch to the POS-terminal, and for transactions up to 10 000 drams there is no need to enter a PIN-code.
The partnership of VTB Bank (Armenia) and the international payment system MasterCard has a history of 7 years, during which, from year to year, cooperation has become more profitable and productive for both partners. A number of products, services and actions aimed at improving the quality of service, comfort and profitability of customers were launched.
According to the 16th issue of the analytical review "Armenian Banks in Card Business" prepared by IA ArmInfo, VTB Bank (Armenia) holds the leading position in terms of the number of active cards, both general and MasterCard and Visa, as well as the volume of plastic transactions. So, on October 1, 2017, the Bank has almost 334 thousand cards, of which over 181 thousand are MasterCard and about 153 thousand are Visa. For 9 months of 2017, the volume of plastic transactions on VTB Bank (Armenia) cards was 181.2 billion drams, of which about 93% or 167.2 billion are ATM transactions. The Bank managed to increase the volume of plastic transactions in the annual cut by 13.5%, and ATM transactions by 14%. Until 2013, VTB Bank (Armenia) issued and serviced only international VISA cards, and since September of that year, becoming a full member of the international payment system MasterCard Worldwide, started issuing and servicing Cirrus/Maestro and MasterCard cards, along with servicing and local ArCa cards. VTB Bank (Armenia) has its own processing.
VTB Bank (Armenia) CJSC became a participant in the international financial group VTB in April 2004. At present, VTB Bank, the second largest bank in Russia, owns 100% of VTB Bank (Armenia). The Bank is traditionally one of the leaders of the banking system of the Republic of Armenia in terms of key indicators. The coverage of the branch network of VTB Bank (Armenia) has 67 branches with presence not only in the capital, but in all regions of the country.