Starting next year, a universal cashback system for non-cash transactions will be introduced in Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this on October 27 during the preliminary discussion of the 2026 state budget.
“Next year, we will introduce a universal cashback system. All citizens will receive 2 percent cashback for non-cash transactions,” he said.
Media outlets also reported Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement, citing that all citizens would be eligible for the cashback system.
Hasmik Hakobyan, a member of the Civil Contract faction, stated on her TikTok page that starting January 1, all citizens will be eligible for 2% cashback on non-cash payments.
In reality, this information is misleading. According to a draft published by the Ministry of Finance, not all citizens can benefit from the refund—only those who hold an “Armenian Card” (ArCa). This means that only individuals with an “ArCa” card will qualify. However, not all banks in Armenia issue “ArCa” cards; for example, Inecobank does not provide this type of card, as confirmed in a conversation with us.
The “Armenian Card” is Armenia’s national payment and settlement system. It serves as the primary infrastructure for the country’s card market, facilitating the processing of payment card transactions and the settlement of bank-to-bank transactions. The “Armenian Card” CJSC was established in 2000 by the Central Bank of Armenia and ten commercial banks.
On November 27, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan announced during a government meeting that the 2% cashback project has been circulated for review. He noted that the project is expected to be approved within the next week or two and will launch on January 1.
Nikol Pashinyan made another attempt to clarify the matter.
“This means that any citizen making non-cash trade payments will automatically receive a 2% refund to the same card used.”
The Minister emphasized that this applies specifically to “ArCa” cards.
The Prime Minister continued, “to the Armenian cards,” and the Minister nodded in agreement.
However, as previously mentioned, not all Armenian cards are “ArCa.”
According to Central Bank data for the third quarter of 2025, there are 668,024 “ArCa” debit cards in circulation issued by RA banks to individuals. However, this number does not accurately represent the total number of cardholders, as an individual may possess multiple “ArCa” cards.
The statements made by Nikol Pashinyan, Hasmik Hakobyan, and some media outlets regarding a 2% refund on non-cash payments starting January 1 are misleading. According to the draft proposal, only “ArCa” cardholders will qualify for this refund. Therefore, those without this type of card will need to obtain one to benefit from the cashback program.
