DUSHANBE, August 13, 2013, Asia-Plus – To-date more than 15 percent of pensioners in Dushanbe have reportedly made shift to the national pension payment card system, Korti Milli (National Card).

According to Amonatbonk (Tajikistan’s savings bank), shift to the Korti Milli system has been weighed at a session of a joint commission of Amonatbonk and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.

The meeting participants have reportedly decided to complete shift to the national payment system, Korti Milli, until September 25 this year.

To-date, the pension payment card system has been established in 16 cities and districts across the country.  By the end of this year, the pension payment card system is expected to be established in other eleven cities and districts of the country, bringing the total number of pensioners using the pension payment cards from 255,000 to 300,000.

The total number of pensioners in Tajikistan is now 623,000 people and 123 million somoni are needed to pay their monthly pensions.  The monthly minimum pension in Tajikistan now amounts to 150.00 somoni.

Amonatbonk is the only state-owned bank in Tajikistan.  It is one of the oldest in the country (established in 1925) and one of the largest based upon various criteria - including the number of branches and the number of served clients.  The institution is unique in its orientation towards implementing social, pension and other state programs.  Amonatbonk has 5 regional centers, 69 branches and nearly 500 agencies.  The bank also has 61 ATMs (automatic teller machines) and 208 POS-terminals across the country.  This gives the institution a presence in the most remote mountainous parts of the country.