The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) announced that Parliament has approved a measure granting the Bank the authority to open settlement accounts for registered payment service providers participating in an important national payment system.

According to the NBG, the reform aims to increase competition and enhance efficiency across Georgia’s payment market.

The institution noted that while providers will be able to access the National Bank’s new payment infrastructure even without opening an account, the option to hold a settlement account offers significant additional benefits.

With such accounts, payment service providers will be able to process transactions independently of commercial banks, reducing reliance on banking institutions, lowering operational costs, and minimizing limitations. This change is expected to make customer transactions faster and more flexible.

The National Bank emphasized that the reform represents a major step toward strengthening competition in the financial sector and will help drive the development of innovative, customer-focused financial products in Georgia.