YEREVAN, June 10. /ARKA/. Armenia's Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Tatevik Stepanyan said at a government meeting today that starting from July 1, 2021, all pensioners in the capital Yerevan and in the second and third largest towns of Gyumri and Vanadzor will start receiving  their pensions on their bank cards.

The shift  to a non-cash method of payment of pensions with some exceptions stems from a package of amendments to the Law On State Pensions, approved by the parliament on June 18, 2020.

According to the previous law, pensions could  be paid either in cash or by a bank transfer at the choice of a citizen.

The law has  some reservations for specific categories of people. In particular, if a pensioner has reached the age of 75 or is 1st or 2nd category disabled, or, in other words,  has a mobility problem, then at his/her option the pension can be paid in cash or by a bank transfer.
However, taking into account the availability of banking infrastructure in the country, the government proposed a phased transition. Originally, the transition was to be introduced on July 1, 2020 for the capital Yerevan, the second and third largest cities of Gyumri and Vanadzor.

After that, it was to gradually spread to other cities and large villages. By 2023, the system was to involve rural areas with a population of less than 1000 people.
However, between the first and second readings changes were made to put off the switch for 6 months. In addition, the national postal operator will be involved in the cashless payment system.

Chairman of the Central Bank Martin Galstyan added at the government session that the transition to non-cash payments is very important for the economy and pensioners, since a bank account will be opened for them, to which a card or electronic wallet will be attached.

He said the Central Bank is working also to provide pensioners in small communities with the opportunity to cash out their money through electronic pos-terminals. -0-