Mastercard: Azerbaijan overtakes many European countries in smartphone penetration

Azerbaijan is one of the leading countries in terms of smartphone usage - with the level of smartphone penetration exceeding 70%, it overtakes many European countries, Report informs referring to the international payment system Mastercard.

“This influence is also evident in the rapid introduction of new payment methods. More than half of all card transactions in the country are registered in online commerce, and this figure is growing. On the other hand, after the launch of Apple Pay at the end of 2021 and Google Pay in 2022 in the country, the use of smartphones for physical purchases has also increased dramatically. According to current statistics, 1 out of every 7 physical payment transactions in Azerbaijan is made through smartphones. With the emergence of new applications for cashless payment applications such as public transport, it is not difficult to predict that smartphones will be used more intensively than plastic cards in the near future,” Mastercard stated.