YEREVAN. – Past daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: The draft law "On Non-Cash Transactions" has already been adopted in the NA [(National Assembly)] in the first reading. According to the draft, as of 2022, carrying out cash transactions in excess of 300 thousand drams will no longer be allowed between individuals, and in the case of organizations and individual entrepreneurs, only the non-cash principle will apply.

Chairman of the Chamber of Auditors, Nairi Sargsyan, noted in a conversation with Past that as a result, the country will face very serious problems. He pointed to many possible problems, also saying that for various reasons, an attachment has been imposed by the CESJA [(Compulsory Enforcement Service of Judicial Acts)] on the [bank] accounts of almost half of the RA population, and people avoid opening a bank account.

According to him, a problem will arise in terms of the payments of tourists, who will not be able to make purchases in excess of 300 thousand drams in cash, whereas [credit] card payments are not favorable options, taking into account also the rather high commissions charged by banks.

He did not rule out that in case the bill is adopted, the banks, using their monopoly position, may increase the cash commissions.

"That is, it turns out that with this step we are ‘pampering’ the banks. In addition, it should be taken into account that in many cases the RA population avoids non-cash payments. This will have very serious consequences for the poor, as well as for people unfamiliar with new technologies."