Correspondents of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” report that the inhabitants of Ashgabat who have exceeded the bank card limits when paying for groceries are unable to make further purchases at state prices.
For instance, on 3 April, 2020 at Azatlyk market (formerly, Tashauz bazaar), where sugar and chicken drumsticks were sold, one of Ashgabat residents purchased the groceries for the amount of 46 manats using his bank card.
On 4 April, 2020 chicken drumsticks, sugar and vegetable oil were sold at the market again.The man again queued up for the groceries but the shop assistant refused to sell him food after he found out from his bank card number that the limit had been exceeded by the customer the previous day.
The man asked to sell him at least the oil, which had been on sale the day before, but was denied the purchase.
The man claims that the limit on his bank card was 80 manats and he could not have exceeded the restriction unless the bank imposed a new daily limit.
Since March 38, 2020 a daily limit has been introduced for bank cards, which the residents of Ashgabat use to pay for groceries in state-run stores. Depending on the savings account and the bank the limit ranges from 40 to 80 manats.
The requirement to pay for the purchase in state-runs stores with bank cards was introduced in November 2019 with a view of reducing the flow of cash, which subsequently led to constant queues in front of ATMs.
Following this, the residents started applying for bank card en masse.