YEREVAN, November 6. / ARKA /. All types of plastic cards were used in Armenia to make 322.7 billion drams worth transactions in the third quarter, the Central Bnk reported today adding also that the amount represented a 20% rise when compared with the same period of 2013. It also said the number of transactions in the reporting period grew by 17% to 6,285,190.
Local ArCa cards were used to make a total of 1,858,605 transactions worth 88.3 billion drams, a 21% rise from the third quarter of 2013.
International VISA plastic cards were used to make 2,797,802 transactions worth 150.3 billion drams. Compared with the same period last year the amount was higher by 19%, the Central Bank said.
Also international MasterCard plastic cards were used to make 1,284,985 transactions worth 63.3 billion drams, a year-on-year increase of 30%.
The amount of transactions made by using other international plastic was said to have grown by 6% to 20.7 billion drams (343,798 transactions).
According to the Central Bank, at the end of the reporting period, the total number of cards in circulation stood at 1,634,065 (an increase of 7%). Of them 570,998 were ArCa cards (up 1%), 704,335 were VISA cards (an increase of 13%), 314,102 were MasterCard cards (up 7%) and 44,630 were other cards (an increase of 9%).
Of 21 local commercial banks 19 issued and serviced plastic cards. All are members of the local single payment system ArCa. ($ 1 – 413.51 drams). 0-
