YEREVAN, October 27. /ARKA/. The universal cashback system developed in Armenia for cashless payments is planned to launch on January 1, 2026, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan announced during a parliamentary discussion of the 2026 draft state budget.
“The specified 2% universal cashback rate will apply to ArCa (Armenian Card) users. The program was developed jointly with the national payment system, Armenian Card, and is currently in its final stages,” the minister said.
According to him, two goals have been set: 1) reducing the shadow economy and expanding cashless transactions, 2) facilitating the development and improvement of the national payment system.
Hovhannisyan recalled that, according to a recent government decision, cashback for pensioners and benefit recipients will be increased from 12% to 20% starting January 1, 2026. “The 2026 draft state budget allocates 20 billion drams for this purpose, which is 7.5 billion drams more than in 2025,” Hovhannisyan said.
The cashback program for pensioners and benefit recipients in Armenia has been in effect since July 1, 2022. Initially, they received a 10% cashback on their monthly spending (up to a maximum of 5,000 drams per month); later, the cashback increased to 12% (up to a maximum of 6,000 drams). The amount is paid out by the 25th of the following month.
On September 25, 2025, the Armenian government allocated nearly 3.22 billion drams to continue the cashback program for pensioners and benefit recipients until the end of the year. It was also announced that the program would continue into 2026. ($1 = 383.05 drams).
