Bir ecosystem presents Azerbaijan’s digital transformation

Bir, the Caucasus’ first fully integrated ecosystem bringing together digital platforms in banking, payments and e-commerce, presented its mission to digitalise everyday consumer habits in Azerbaijan at the Money20/20 Middle East conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this week.

Speaking at the event in Riyadh, Bir ecosystem head Farid Huseynov highlighted the company’s key role in Azerbaijan’s transition to a digital economy, Caliber.Az reports.

He made clear that the ecosystem serves more than 5 million users, representing over half of the country’s population, making their everyday financial experience more convenient and modern.

Huseynov took part in panel discussions on the Executive, Bridge and Off-the-Record stages alongside senior executives from global technology and financial giants including Google, Deutsche Bank and BlackRock. The discussions focused on building smart financial institutions, scaling fintech businesses and the future of payment systems.

Drawing on experience in a market where the tradition of cash payments remains strong, Huseynov stressed the importance of building trust in digital services and taking into account users’ varying levels of readiness for innovation. For this reason, the Bir ecosystem combines digital solutions such as the Birbank mobile app and m10 e-wallet with a broad physical infrastructure.

In particular, Milliön payment terminals allow customers to pay bills in cash, ensuring a smooth and comfortable transition to the digital environment. A similar inclusive approach is applied to people with hearing impairments and older users, who have access to both dedicated accessibility features in the apps and traditional support at branches.

Sharing his impressions of the event, Huseynov said: “Money20/20 is one of the world’s most authoritative platforms dedicated to innovation in the technology and financial sectors. It was important for me to speak at the sessions in Riyadh and draw the international community’s attention to Azerbaijan’s enormous potential and the rapid digitalisation of our economy. These transformations cover a wide range of everyday processes, from shopping to domestic and international money transfers, as well as paying for public transport. It was very pleasing to see such strong interest in the event and exchange ideas with colleagues from leading institutions around the world.”

The three-day conference brought together more than 30,000 participants and focused on key industry topics including embedded finance, changing customer needs, the global scaling of fintech solutions and the practical implementation of artificial intelligence in financial services.

Successfully integrating various digital platforms in a country with enormous growth potential in the online sphere, Bir presented a unique perspective at the event on the benefits and challenges of creating a unified ecosystem.

Bir is the Caucasus’ first fully integrated banking, payments and e-commerce ecosystem, transforming the way people and businesses access everyday services in Azerbaijan. Launched in 2025, Bir brings together the country’s leading digital platforms, including Birbank, Milliön payment terminals and the m10 app, reaching more than 5 million users.

Through strategic partnerships with the marketplace Trendyol and the BakıKart transport payment system, Bir is laying the foundations for Azerbaijan’s largest digital ecosystem for consumers and businesses.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov