Page 35 - IRANRptFeb20

Digital payments in Iran up 27% in fifth Persian month
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Iranians are using domestically developed digital payment methods more than ever. Growth in the use of such methods was reportedly up 26.79% y/y and 10.64% m/m in the fifth Persian calendar month (ended August 22), according to Tehran’s ​Financial Tribune.​
Iranian banking authorities, which are unable to develop usual links to international payment gateways given US sanctions, have developed the Shaparak system. Introduced over a decade ago, it has helped card payment terminal, mobile phone and online payments take off in Iran.
Inflationary pressure in Iran brought about by the American sanctions regime has likely driven increased use of networked payments, with cash settlements becoming impractical due to fast-increasing prices.
Overall some 83.66% of transactions in the analysed month were classified under “purchasing of goods and services”. The category showed annual growth of 2.67% y/y. It was followed by “bill payments” at 11.66% of transactions.
In value terms, transactions for purchasing goods and services took a 97.3% share.
8.2 ​Central Bank policy
Central bank clears developed-in-Iran payments app Digipay
Iran’s central bank chief says removing four zeros from rial will not cost the earth
Developed-in-Iran payments service provider (PSP) app Digipay has been given the green light for operation by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), according to ItMen.ir.
The app uses the familiar typography of the so-called “Iranian Amazon”, domestic e-commerce giant DigiKala. It was launched by the parent investment company behind DigiKala, Sarava Pars,
DigiPay is one of a growing number of digital payment solutions developed in Iran taking advantage of a government push to move away from traditional cash payments.
“All daily and routine transactions performed by end-users of all types of e-payments can be integrated into the Digipay integrated ecosystem for a seamless experience for all small payments including C2C, paying bills, account top-ups and more,” the application’s website says.
The most popular PSP in Iran is Asan Pardakht. It enables users to transfer funds from card-to-card, pay bills with the use of barcodes and QR codes and donate to charity. Asan Pardakht has a 37.26% market share in online process payments. Its application is dubbed “Ap”.
It is estimated that 2.35bn transactions worth over IRR2.5tn ($59.7bn at the government exchange rate) were processed by Iranian domestic payments network Shaparak in the Persian calendar month to August 22.
The latest monthly report published on the company’s website shows growth rates of 26.79% y/y and 10.64% y/y in volume and value, respectively.
Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnasser Hemmati, has said removing four rial zeros from banknotes will not break the bank, according to an ICANA report published on August 6.
The Rouhani cabinet ​has given its approval to changing the denomination​ of the Iranian currency by removing four zeros while also officially renaming it “Toman." The move to make such changes has been on the cards for several years, but poor economic conditions have forced successive administrations to place the proposal on the backburner.
“The initiative does not incur additional costs as the government annually
35​ IRAN Country Report​ February 2020 www.intellinews.com