Lithuanian Companies Contribute to Turkmen Payment Services Market Development

The number of payment cards in Turkmenistan is growing rapidly.  According to the Central Bank of Turkmenistan, at the beginning of 2016, it was 1.031 million, and by the end of that year, this figure increased by 635 thousand to 1.6 million. In other words, by more than 50%. If at the end of 2015, every fifth resident had a payment card, at the end of 2016, every third had it.

The Lithuanian JSC Ashburn International (aka ASHBURN), which is part of the Penki kontinentai group of companies, is actively involved in the modernization of the banking sector of Turkmenistan. In 2015-2016 it delivered almost 5,000 payment terminals from Ingenico Group, together with TransLink.iQ specialized software, allowing remote monitoring of the operation of the equipment, updating its settings and software, and sending transactions reports to the bank data centers.

“It’s great that we can assist in the Turkmen banking sector modernization, banking services development and their accessibility, Žoržas Šarafanovičius, CEO of the Lithuanian company, say. – We have expertise in the Lithuanian banking market, where payment cards outnumber the population. For this reason, we have developed a specialized TransLink.iQ solution aimed to monitor the network peak load – and to ensure shopping smoothness. This solution is significant for Turkmenistan if you consider the dynamics and the future needs of the banking sector.”

The main ASHBURN’s partners are Turkmenistan and Dayhanbank state commercial banks that account for the biggest (26% and 24%) payment terminals and cardholders (20% and 38%, respectively) numbers.

Mr. Šarafanovičius is convinced that the fast growth of the Turkmen payment cards market also caused the growth of demand for payment devices, which is extremely important concerning the forthcoming Vth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

“The Olympic Village construction, with more than 30 buildings for various purposes, is in full swing. It will include not only new sports arenas but also hotels, shopping centers, and medical facilities. It’s only natural that payment terminals should be everywhere. And – everything should be ready by September 17, when the event will start, and we are ready for cooperation”, ASHBURN’s CEO says.

The devices delivered by ASHBURN now successfully work in both the local Altyn Asyr and the international VISA payment systems. According to Mr. Šarafanovičius, their payment terminals accept different (magnetic and chip) cards from different vendors. “This year, we’ll try to make an even more active contribution to the development of payment services in Turkmenistan so that its residents and guests could quickly and easily carry out financial transactions in a most convenient way,” he says.

In its turn, Lithuania’s Penkių kontinentų bankinės technologijos (aka BS/2), which is part of the same Penki kontinentai group, successfully cooperates with the Turkmen State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs or Turkmenvnesheconombank. Some 50 modern ATMs, some of which have currency exchange options – and equipped with video surveillance and online monitoring systems “ATMeye”– were shipped to the bank.

Both Ashburn International and BS/2 belong to the Penki kontinentai group of companies. ASHBURN is engaged in software solutions for payment cards, payment terminals, loyalty systems for banking and financial sectors, and retailers. BS/2 specializes in software, bank equipment supplies, system integration, maintenance, and outsourcing of IT services to more than 70 countries worldwide.