Armenia's law on payment and settlement systems covers the infrastructure and the organisations providing those functions. It places clearing and settlement activity within public oversight, connecting system operation and participation to the country's financial-stability framework.
TL;DR:
- The Central Bank licenses and oversees payment organisations and settlement systems.
- Protects qualifying instructions and netting when a participant's operations are interrupted.
- Specified securities and derivatives settlement is excluded; the translation runs through June 2022.
Summary
Systems and organisations under one framework
The law adopted on 24 November 2004 regulates payment and settlement systems and the organisations providing payment and settlement services in Armenia. It covers licensing, control, violations, sanctions and finality. A system is defined through the combination of instruments, common rules, procedures and supporting technical facilities used for clearing, funds transfer and settlement. This makes the framework relevant to both the legal organisation of infrastructure and the participants whose payments move through it.
Licensing and the Central Bank’s role
The legal framework includes this law, the Civil Code, the Central Bank Law and applicable Central Bank regulatory acts. It establishes conditions for operating systems and payment organisations and for control over their activities. Separate provisions address participation in foreign systems and the risks such arrangements may create. A payment organisation and a system operator occupy different roles, so authorisation must be understood in relation to the activity performed rather than assumed from a common brand or technology.
Irrevocability and settlement finality
The law deals expressly with irrevocable payment and settlement documents, netting and final settlement. It protects qualifying rights and obligations against the consequences of a participant’s interrupted activity under the conditions specified in the text. System rules agreed with the Central Bank determine important moments such as entry and irrevocability. This helps explain why the legal finality of an inter-institution settlement is a different question from whether a customer can dispute the underlying payment.
Scope boundaries and source context
The law excludes specified settlement arising from exchange-traded securities and derivatives transactions. It also distinguishes non-profit payment and settlement unions from entities actually supplying services: a union cannot provide payment and settlement services merely by being formed to represent participants. The official English translation incorporates amendments through 9 June 2022. Its version and exclusions should remain visible when connecting this framework with a particular system, cross-border arrangement or provider permission.
Keywords
- Armenia payments
- settlement systems
- provider licensing
- instruction irrevocability
- netting
- participant failure
- central oversight
- payment organisations
- infrastructure rules
- securities exclusions