Standards/arcaqr
ArcaQR
Overview
ArcaQR is Armenia's unified national QR-payment system, launched 30 September 2024 by Armenian Card CJSC (Arca) — Armenia's national payment system [1, 3, [am-cro]]. ArcaQR enables instant payments directly from bank accounts with a single scan — users log into mobile-banking app, scan the QR code, and pay directly from any bank account. The official launch event was attended by representatives of the RA Government, the Central Bank of Armenia, payment-and-settlement systems, and Armenian banks — a high-profile multi-stakeholder unveiling.
The structural significance: Arca has been providing technological support to Armenian banks for more than 25 years — card processing, payment solutions, interbank services. ArcaQR is the recently-launched unified national QR solution complementing ArcaPay (Arca's instant-money-transfers system). Initial participating banks include Ardshinbank, AraratBank, Armeconombank, Evocabank, Converse Bank, Ameriabank — substantial Armenian-banking-sector coverage. Arca is supervised by the Central Bank of Armenia. A regional structural development: Arca, Bank of Georgia, and Ameriabank signed a Memorandum of Understanding — suggesting potential cross-border Armenia-Georgia QR-payment cooperation as Caucasian regional payment-system integration develops.
History
Background — Arca + Armenian payment landscape AM:
- Armenian Card CJSC (Arca) — Armenia's national payment system, 25+ year history.
- Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) — supervisor.
- ArcaPay — Arca's earlier instant-money-transfers system.
- DRAM — Armenia's domestic card scheme.
ArcaPay launch [finport]:
- Arca's first instant-money-transfers product.
30 September 2024 — ArcaQR officially launches [3]:
- Multi-stakeholder launch event.
- Initial participating banks: Ardshinbank, AraratBank, Armeconombank, Evocabank, Converse Bank.
Subsequent — Ameriabank joins [1]:
- Major Armenian commercial bank adds support.
Arca-Bank of Georgia-Ameriabank MoU [armenpress]:
- Regional cooperation potential.
- Caucasian payment-system integration ambition.
Technical specification
ArcaQR is Arca-operated CBA-supervised unified national QR scheme [1, 3]:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Operator | Armenian Card CJSC (Arca) — National Payment System of Armenia |
| Regulator | Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) |
| Launch | 30 September 2024 |
| Currency | AMD (Armenian dram) |
| Companion system | ArcaPay (instant money transfers) |
| Card scheme companion | DRAM (Armenia's domestic card scheme) |
| Settlement | Instant directly from bank accounts |
| Cross-border MoU | Bank of Georgia + Ameriabank |
| Participating banks | Ardshinbank, AraratBank, Armeconombank, Evocabank, Converse Bank, Ameriabank |
Single-scan flow [3]:
- User opens any participating bank's mobile-banking app.
- Scans ArcaQR.
- Payment instant from chosen bank account.
Use cases
Merchant QR payments [1]: Cardinal use.
P2P transfers (via ArcaPay) [finport]: Companion instant rail.
Cross-bank flexibility [3]: User can pay from any participating-bank account.
Cashless culture fostering [3]: Strategic goal — Armenian-government-supported cashless drive.
Cross-border (potential) [armenpress]: Armenia-Georgia MoU foundation.
Implementations & ecosystem
Operator: Armenian Card CJSC (Arca).
Regulator: Central Bank of Armenia (CBA).
Initial participating banks (5 + Ameriabank):
- Ardshinbank.
- AraratBank.
- Armeconombank.
- Evocabank.
- Converse Bank.
- Ameriabank.
Regional MoU partner: Bank of Georgia.
Companion: ArcaPay (instant money transfers), DRAM (card scheme).
Fun facts
- 30 September 2024 launch — recent national-QR rollout.
- 25+ year Arca history: Arca's longstanding role provides foundation.
- Multi-stakeholder launch event: Government + CBA + banks attending.
- 5+1 participating banks: Substantial initial coverage.
- Bank of Georgia MoU: Caucasian regional payment-system integration potential.
- CBA-supervised: Central-bank-supervised but not operator — bank-consortium-coordinated model.
- Direct-from-bank-account model: Like UK Open Banking, no card-rail intermediation.
- "Arca" branding family: ArcaQR + ArcaPay + DRAM = comprehensive Armenian-payment-system brand.
Comparison
| Feature | ArcaQR (AM) | DRAM (AM card) | blink (BG) | nepalpay-qr (NP) | bizum (ES) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Arca (national payment system) | Arca | BORICA AD | NCHL | Bizum SL |
| Launch | 30 Sep 2024 | Earlier | 2021 | Mar 2022 | Oct 2016 |
| Type | Unified national QR | Domestic card | Instant payment scheme | EMVCo 4.3 QR | A2A bank consortium |
| Settlement | Direct from bank accounts | Card-rail | BISERA6 | NCHL connectIPS | Iberpay SCT Inst |
| Cross-border partners | Bank of Georgia (MoU) | n/a | TIPS (EUR) | Sri Lanka | None |
Status
Active, recently launched [1, 3]:
- Arca operator since 30 September 2024.
- 5+ participating Armenian banks.
- CBA-supervised.
- Cross-border MoU with Bank of Georgia.
- Direct-from-bank-account single-scan.
Sources
- 1 Ameriabank joins ArcaQR — Arka
- 2 Ardshinbank joins ArcaQR
- 3 AraratBank joins ArcaQR — Arminfo
- [am-cro]
reports/countries/AM-armenia.md
Deployments
Found in the following country reports (grep across reports/countries/):
- AM — AM-armenia.md
- AZ — AZ-azerbaijan.md