The Bir ecosystem — Azerbaijan’s integrated banking, payments and e‑commerce group — has partnered with UnionPay International to broaden UnionPay acceptance across the country. The first phase lets UnionPay cardholders shop online at over 1,000 merchants and withdraw cash at nearly 1,300 Birbank ATMs.
Birbank will roll out further acceptance across POS acquiring and mobile POS, and will enable transfers to UnionPay cards. Once complete, the partnership will cover ATMs, e‑commerce, POS terminals and mPOS devices, creating one of Azerbaijan’s most comprehensive international acquiring footprints.
The move aims to boost tourism and cross‑border trade by making payments simpler for international visitors and helping local merchants access a wider customer base without extra integrations. Bir serves more than 5 million users and sees UnionPay acceptance as a strategic step to deepen Azerbaijan’s connectivity with Asian and global payment networks.