Fair competition and balanced conditions for sustainable market development

In response to statements made by the payment organizations “Fast Shift”, “Idram”, “Easy Pay” and “Telcell” in the media and on social platforms, Viva Armenia CJSC considers it necessary to clarify the factual situation and refute the unfounded accusations that have been published.

The information presented in these materials distorts the facts and is intended to mislead the public, creating an unjustified negative impression of the actions of Viva Armenia CJSC and harming its business reputation.

Viva Armenia CJSC has not put forward a demand for an arbitrary reduction of commission fees, but a fair and economically justified proposal. Specifically, the company proposed aligning the commission fees charged for communication services with those applied to utility services, which are significantly lower than the commission fees charged for Viva Armenia CJSC’s services.

Viva Armenia CJSC’s proposal is based on the fact that payments for both utility and electronic communication services are periodic in nature and the acceptance, processing and transfer of these payments are carried out in the same manner. Therefore, there is no basis for applying significantly different tariffs to similar services.

However, the above-mentioned payment service providers categorically rejected this proposal without providing any economically justified reasoning, and none of them offered counter-proposals.

It is obvious that such a discriminatory approach to setting commission fees cannot be considered justified. The application of significantly different tariffs to the same technical process without objective grounds indicates a violation of market fairness, which is unacceptable to Viva Armenia CJSC.

Moreover, the categorical rejection of the proposal to revise commission fees by the four major payment service providers raises concerns about a potential anti-competitive agreement. In the company’s view, such behavior restricts market competition and causes harm to both electronic communication operators and end consumers.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned payment service providers, on the one hand, demonstrate a rigid stance and, at the same time, try to exert public and administrative pressure on electronic communication operators by appealing to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. In contrast, Viva Armenia CJSC has always sought and continues to seek constructive dialogue and remains ready to resume negotiations and re-establish cooperation, expecting that the tariffs of the payment service providers will be set in a fair, economically justified, competitive and mutually beneficial manner. At the same time, the company will not yield to unjustified pressure and is determined to consistently protect its interests, reserving all its rights, including the right to protect its business reputation and to seek compensation for any losses incurred, at its own discretion.

We call on the relevant payment companies to reconsider their conduct, refrain from disseminating defamatory information about the Company and taking irresponsible steps.

We would like to remind you that payments for Viva Armenia CJSC services can be made through the following channels:

• in the RA
• Through the “MobiDram” application, branches and terminals
• Through the “My Viva” application
• ⁠Through the ⁠Team Pay and U!Pay applications and in branches
• Via Viva’s “Online Payment” page
• At Viva service centers
• By bank transfer within the RA
• At branches of banks in the RA
• At “Haypost” postal branches
• At “Top-up” payment points network

Viva subscribers can also receive money from another prepaid subscriber without any fee through the “Poghantsum” service.