Bir says ecosystem tops 5 million users in Azerbaijan

Bir says its integrated banking, payments and eCommerce ecosystem has reached more than 5 million users in Azerbaijan, roughly half the country's population.

Javid Mirzayev, Chief Executive Officer of Fintech Business at Bir and First Deputy Chairman of Kapital Bank, outlined the business's growth during a digital banking gathering in Istanbul. He said the group has combined digital banking, online shopping, payments and financing within one system since launching Bir in 2025.

The ecosystem brings together several services under one structure, including Kapital Bank's digital banking brand Birbank, the Birmarket online marketplace, the m10 digital wallet and Milliön payment terminals.

Bir has also linked these platforms through tools including Bir ID, Bir Bonus and Bir Pay. Those products give users a single route across different services while allowing them to earn rewards and pay online or in shops.

Mirzayev cited point-of-sale finance as one example. A customer using Birmarket can apply for Birbank financing during checkout rather than moving to a separate provider or application.

Usage shift

The expansion has coincided with a change in how customers use the bank's services. According to Mirzayev, 90% of customers now use the Birbank app for daily banking.

That suggests digital channels are becoming the main route for routine activity such as payments, transfers and account management. It also indicates that a traditional bank can shift a large share of customer behaviour to app-based banking when other consumer services are tied into the same system.

Customer service has also changed as more activity moves online. Bir says 60% of customer support requests are now resolved without human intervention, up from 31% a year earlier.

This points to a broader push by banks to automate routine support work and reduce pressure on call centres and branch networks. It also shows how far digital self-service tools have spread across the group's operations in a relatively short period.

Bank model

Mirzayev used the occasion to argue that established banks can build large digital consumer businesses without being displaced by newer fintech entrants. His remarks focused on a bank-led ecosystem that combines financial products with commerce and payments in one place.

"At Bir, we connected banking, payments, and shopping under a single umbrella to simplify everyday life," said Javid Mirzayev, Chief Executive Officer of Fintech Business at Bir and First Deputy Chairman of Kapital Bank.

"We are showing the international community that legacy banks don't have to be disrupted by fintechs. By adapting to practical customer needs, they can lead the digital shift," Mirzayev said.

The approach reflects a wider trend in several markets, where banks are seeking to retain customer attention by expanding beyond current accounts and cards. Marketplaces, wallets, loyalty systems and transport or utility payments are increasingly being folded into the same digital environment.

Bir's ecosystem also includes partnerships with Trendyol and the BakiKart transport payment system. Those arrangements extend the number of everyday transactions that can sit within the group's network.

Domestic scale

The user total is notable in the context of Azerbaijan's size. Reaching more than 5 million users within about a year of launch would make Bir one of the more widely used digital consumer finance platforms in the domestic market.

For Kapital Bank, the project also represents an effort to turn the reach of an established lender into a broader digital retail business. Rather than operating banking, payments and shopping as separate products, the group is trying to tie them together so that activity in one service supports use of another.

That strategy can create more frequent customer contact than banking alone, particularly when shopping and everyday payments are involved. It may also give the group more data on customer behaviour across multiple types of transactions, although Bir has not disclosed financial performance measures linked to the expansion.

The metrics shared by Mirzayev offer one of the clearest signs yet of the scale Bir says it has achieved. The business now reaches more than 5 million users, while 90% of customers use the Birbank app for daily banking and 60% of support requests are resolved without human intervention.