On April 5, Ameriabank to launch a new payment instrument jointly with Drops Company

ArmInfo. A new payment tool to be launched by America bank in cooperation with Drops -  an  application that reduces the financial burden of individuals by  choosing the desired repayment schedule, especially in the case of  one-time large payments.The Drops company's CEO Vahagn Tsaturyan,  noting that the application will be available to the public from  April 5 this year, announced this on March 28 at the press  conference.

"The application will allow to make various payments with the help of  payment cards with the regularity chosen on a daily basis, weekly,  monthly, etc., in order to ease the financial burden. By connecting  to the system, the necessary amount will be automatically written off  from the client's account. Of funds on the account, the required  amount will be deducted upon receipt of funds on the card," he  explained. Tsaturyan noted that by means of the new application it is  possible to make payment for study and telephone communication, make  insurance and communal payments, etc.

Ashot Mesropyan, the commercial director of Drops, noted that at the  moment 20 organizations are connected to the system, including 4  insurance companies of Armenia (Rosgosstrakh, INGO Armenia, Nairi  Insurance, Armenia Insurance), 4-5 universities, 2 private schools,  training centers, children's Garden, communication operators  (Rostelekom and UCom), 3 travel companies. According to him, today  there are negotiations with credit organizations on joining the  system. "In the near future, the application will also include  payments for property tax, rent, fines to the traffic police," he  added.

In his turn, Ameriabank's director of retail business, Arman  Barseghyan, said: "The new solution will allow clients not to apply  for loans to pay for certain expenses, but at the same time it is  possible to manage personal financial flows more efficiently." As he  said, the size of the commission on payments will fluctuate in a  range from 0% to 1,9%.

Director of Technologies and Operations of Ameriabank Burastan  Movsisyan noted that all holders of Visa, Mastercard and ArCa cards  of the Armenian banking system can use the system. At the same time,  she stressed that the security of the operating system is provided by  a three-level protection, using VbV (Verified by Visa) and Secure  Code technologies.

To note, the company Drops is developing and implementing  technological software solutions and tools.  The company's goal is to  ensure wider access of Armenian consumers to goods and services,  through technological solutions, in particular the Drops payment  instrument. Currently, several other innovative projects are under  development, which will soon be presented to the public.

According to the analytical review "Armenian Banks in the Card  Business" prepared by IC ArmInfo, Ameriabank is among the top ten in  the total number of active cards - over 70 thousand units. On October  1, 2016. According to the number of active Visa cards, the bank holds  a position in the top five - about 52 thousand. The number of active  MasterCard exceeds 11 thousand units, and local cards ArCa has about  7 thousand units. The number of Visa cards Ameriabank increased 12%  in annual terms, and MasterCard - by 28.2%, while reducing by 37.9%  the number of local ArCa, resulting in the total number of active  cards of the bank increased by 5.9%. In terms of plastic  transactions, Ameriabank has become TOP-5, with about 84 billion  drams for the 9 months of 2016 (annual growth of 8.2%), of which over  63 billion drams accounted for the share of ATM transactions (annual  growth of 20.5%). In terms of coverage of the ATM network, Ameriabank  also has 108 ATMs in the TOP-5, while the second position - 87 ATM -  is held in the number of ATMs in the city. The bank has 1195 own  POS-terminals, and this is the 2nd position in the market.   Ameriabank increased revenues from servicing payment cards by 16.4%  to 1.3 billion drams (3rd position) in 2016, more significantly  increasing expenses on card maintenance by 40.9% to 407.3 million  drams (5 Position), keeping the 2nd position in terms of the growth  rates of these balance sheet items. Ameriabank is a universal bank  that provides investment, corporate and retail banking services in  the form of a comprehensive package of banking solutions. The bank  has been operating in the Armenian market since October 31, 1996. The  branch network of Ameriabank today has 14 divisions: 8 - capital and  6 - regional.  As of January 1, 2017, the Bank's shareholders are  Ameri Group with 65.8% equity interest, EBRD - 20.7% and ESPS Holding  Limited - 13.5%.