ArmInfo.Starting April 1, pensions and benefits in Armenia will be paid exclusively by bank transfer, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Torosyan reminded at a government meeting on February 19. "We ask all our pensioners and benefit recipients to independently choose a bank and receive a bank card by March 5," Torosyan said.
According to him, the relevant law was adopted back in December 2025, and the entire process is now regulated by government decisions.
Torosyan noted that if citizens do not make their choice by March 5, the system will automatically assign a random bank. To avoid automatic selection and manage your funds independently, it is recommended to choose a credit institution in advance and record your choice through the appropriate platforms. The minister noted that at the beginning of December last year, approximately 50,000 citizens were receiving their pensions or benefits in cash, but this number has now dropped to 21,539.
"About 30,000 citizens have already voluntarily switched to cashless payments, and another 1,000-1,500 continue to do so daily,> he said.
The ministry plans to deliver bank cards via courier service to those citizens who are objectively unable to travel to a bank. The initial list will include individuals over 85, as well as citizens aged 75-85 with severe health limitations.
As for the cashback program for non-cash payments for pensioners and benefit recipients, according to the head of the Ministry of Social Labor, 445,228 citizens have already used the program in January, which is approximately 15,000 more than in December 2025. In January, citizens received 2.9 billion drams in cashback, compared to 1.8 billion in the previous month. The average cashback amount was approximately 7,000 drams.
As a reminder, starting in 2026, cashback for pensioners and those receiving benefits increased from 12% to 20% on non-cash purchases (bank cards). Cashback can be received with any card (Visa, MasterCard, ArCa), but for ArCa national payment system cards, an additional and universal (not just for pensioners) 2% cashback (22%) applies. In absolute terms, the 20% cashback cannot exceed 10,000 drams per month. For 2% cashback, this limit is 60,000 drams.
