75,689 Arca Plastic Cards In Circulation In Armenia By End Of Second

75,689 ARCA PLASTIC CARDS IN CIRCULATION IN ARMENIA BY END OF 2ND QUARTER 2006

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 10, 2006

YEREVAN, August 10. /ARKA/. In the 2nd quarter pf 2006, the number of
local cards "Armenian Card" (ArCa) in circulation increase by 10,714
or 1.16 times and reached 75,689 at the end of June, 2006.

The Payment and Information System Development Department and the
Settlement System Department, Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) report
that During the period under review, a total of 331,729 transactions
worth AMD 9,828mln were effected by means of ArCa cards – an AMD
2,734mln or 1.31-time increase in volume, and 63,030 or 1.23-time
increase in the number of transactions.

Two transactions were effected a month on the average, with the
average volume of one transaction being AMD 29,000 – an AMD 2,000
increase compared to the 1st quarter of 2006.

The average share of one cash dispenser was 714 ArCa cards. A total
of 106 cash dispensers served ArCa cards.

At the end of the 2nd quarter of 2006, 19 commercial banks issued
and served plastic cards in Armenia, 17 of them were members of the
ArCa system.

During the period under review, the total volume of transactions by
means of all types of plastic cards was AMD 30,944, with the number
reaching 719,878. a total o 176,104 plastic cards were in circulation
at the end of June 2006, 19,430 more than at the beginning of the
2nd quarter of 2006. ($1 – AMD 399.66)