Azerbaijan's Decision No. 12/3 of 13 March 2024 regulates payment operations and payment instruments. Issued by the Central Bank under the Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems, it connects the provider's services and instruments with the domestic payment-regulation framework.
TL;DR:
- Sets operating rules for payments, inter-provider settlement, cards and e-money.
- Covers limited-value instruments, terminal confirmations and regulatory data submission.
- Remote payments link to authentication rules; customer checks and FX have separate requirements.
Summary
An operational rule beneath the payments law
The Central Bank adopted Decision No. 12/3 on 13 March 2024 to regulate payment operations and payment instruments. It draws on the Payment Services and Payment Systems Law, the Central Bank Law and other legislation. Its scope includes the procedures followed by payment-service providers, settlements between them and requirements attached to instruments. This is an operational layer within the legal framework, rather than a substitute for the law establishing the provider’s status or the payment system’s authorisation.
Cards, e-money and limited-value instruments
The regulation addresses payment instruments including physical and virtual cards. Its opening scope also covers the currency and maximum amounts of electronic money, the aggregate obligations of an issuer and criteria for small-value non-personalised instruments. These are distinct concepts: a single instrument’s limit and the issuer’s total obligations measure different things. The relevant provisions must be read for the instrument concerned, rather than attaching one limit or customer category to every digital payment product.
Authentication and customer checks
For remotely and electronically conducted operations, providers must follow the Central Bank’s strong-customer-authentication requirements. Customer due diligence and targeted financial-sanctions matters are linked to the applicable financial-crime laws, and wire transfers are also connected to the separate due-diligence regulation. The cross-references make clear that an instrument’s operational compliance does not settle all identity, sanctions or security obligations. Those requirements operate together across the payment journey.
Settlement, confirmations and other legal layers
The regulation includes information confirming terminal transactions and the submission of data, while settlements between providers follow the Central Bank’s relevant settlement arrangements. Foreign-currency operations remain subject to currency legislation. It also contains specific provisions for certain grant, donation and organisational payments. These distinctions matter because a payment’s channel, currency and purpose can engage different parts of the framework. Where this regulation does not address a matter, the underlying law and other legal acts remain relevant.
Keywords
- Azerbaijan payments
- Decision 12/3
- interbank settlement
- payment cards
- electronic money
- terminal confirmations
- remote authentication
- data submission
- limited instruments
- operating procedures