ArmInfo. Armenian payment processing organizations (PPOs) represented by EasyPay, Idram, Telcell, and Fast Shift, have failed to reach an agreement with the country's mobile operators Viva Armenia, Team Telecom, and UCOM regarding the commission for accepting payments for telecom services. Payment acceptance through PPO terminals will be suspended starting February 1.
Today, Armenian payment processing companies issued a joint statement regarding this matter. According to the statement, "the new terms of cooperation proposed by Viva Armenia, Team Telecom, and UCOM are inconsistent with the principles of mutually beneficial cooperation and are one-sided, jeopardizing the economic foundations for the continuous and high-quality provision of services."
According to PPOs, "in recent years, the actual cost of financial services has increased significantly, including expenses for technical maintenance, security, and infrastructure upkeep. Despite this, payment processing companies, emphasizing the public interest and accessibility of payment services for citizens, have not applied for tariff revisions and have continued to provide services under the current terms.
Currently, the sharp reduction in commission fees of 40-50% proposed by telecommunications companies does not provide even minimal economic balance and makes it virtually impossible to maintain services in the current format. The refusal of payment processing organizations to accept the proposed changes has led to the unilateral termination of existing contracts by telecommunications operators, making negotiations and resolution of the issue impossible."
It is worth noting, that a significant portion of mobile operator payments are currently processed through payment and settlement companies' platforms, which provide citizens with fast, secure, and modern payment solutions.
The statement emphasizes that if the imposed changes come into force, hundreds of thousands of subscribers can lose this convenience as of February 1. Such changes can result in the emergence of additional intermediaries engaged in self-service and create additional financial burdens. This goes against the logic of modern payment services development.
Payment processing companies have consistently proposed engaging in negotiations, expanding services, and establishing new cooperation models, firmly believing that stable cooperation must be based on a balance of interests for all parties. Unilateral decisions may violate the principles of fair competition, and therefore they will be appealed to the Competition Protection Commission of the Republic of Armenia and the relevant government agencies. According to a joint statement from the payment processing companies, they reaffirm their willingness to continue cooperation only on mutually beneficial, financially viable, and long-term sustainable terms, in the interests of citizens and the development of the entire payment system.
It should be noted that this week, all three mobile operators in Armenia sent out announcements stating that payments for their services through the EasyPay, Idram, Telcell, and Fast Shift platforms would be unavailable starting in February. No reasons were given. "Payment for services will not be made through payment systems, payment terminals, online wallets, or branches of the aforementioned companies," the announcements stated. According to ArmInfo, payment processing organizations (PPOs) received commissions of up to 3% of the payment amount from mobile operators for payment acceptance services via terminals and wallets. However, starting in 2026, mobile operators decided to significantly reduce the agency commission. The parties were unable to reach an agreement. Currently, the operators are seeking to migrate users to their own or bank payment channels (apps and websites), where the commission is 0%.
