The latest monthly performance report of Iran's e-payment network shows that more than 2.73 billion transactions worth of 3,886.38 trillion rials ($16.8 billion) were processed by the national retail payment network Shaparak in the third Iranian calendar month (21 May-June 21).
According to the data published by Shaparak Company, Beh Pardakht Mellat Company still tops the list of payment service providers in terms of both the number of transactions and the total value.
Beh Pardakht, affiliated to Bank Mellat, processed 22.4% of transactions. In value terms, the company had a 24% share of the total payments made via digital tools.
Compared to the same period in the last fiscal year, Beh Pardakht showed 1% growth in its share of the volume of transactions and their aggregated value.
Saman Electronic Payment, affiliated to Bank Saman, and Parsian e-Commerce Company, affiliated to Parsian Bank, came in second and third with 18.8% and 16.5% market share.
Asan Pardakht Persian lost nearly 2.5% of its market share, compared to the corresponding period year and was fourth.
As per the report, transactions jumped 24.35% and 62.56% in volume and value, respectively, compared to the same month last year.
Asan Pardakht, however, has maintained the top slot in online payments. It processed nearly 30% of transactions made through online payment gateways. Its share was nearly 35% in value terms of online payment transactions.
Twelve PSPs are authorized to operate in Iran’s digital payment industry mostly affiliated to banks. The central bank’s stringent regulations for setting up a PSP have disallowed the emergence of new players in the lucrative market.
Shaparak also reflected on PSP performances in terms of the purpose of transactions, putting them in three groups of payments made for purchasing goods and services, paying bills and checking account balance.
Beh Pardakht topped payment list for buying goods and those for checking the balance. Thanks to its popular smartphone application, Asan Pardakht dominates when it comes to paying bills.
Purchasing goods and paying for services had the lion’s share with 87.17%.
Transactions processed for buying cellphone recharges and checking account balance, respectively, accounted for 8.12% and 4.71% of the total Shaparak transactions.