How do people in Georgia pay online?
Cards issued by Georgian banks carry most online payments. Visa and Mastercard dominate, American Express is accepted by some acquirers, and the two largest banking groups, Bank of Georgia and TBC, run the apps where most people manage their money. Bank of Georgia alone reported more than 1.8 million retail digital monthly active users at the end of 2025, in a country of about 3.94 million people. A Georgian shopper typically pays with a card from one of these banks, either by typing the card details or through a wallet.
Online shopping is now routine. Geostat’s June 2026 survey found that 38.6% of internet users aged 15 and over had bought or ordered goods or services online in the previous 12 months, up from 30.0% in 2022. The share was 42.7% in towns and cities and 31.0% in rural areas, and 63.0% among people aged 15 to 29.
Mobile wallets are part of the normal checkout. Bank-hosted payment pages in Georgia offer Apple Pay and Google Pay next to the card form, and Bank of Georgia’s own documentation recommends enabling Google Pay to improve conversion. The same payment page can also take payment inside the bank’s own app, so a customer of that bank can confirm without typing card details.
Account-based payments are newer. The National Bank of Georgia runs an open banking framework, and its registry lists fintech payment initiation providers alongside banks. Keepz became the first fintech to receive an open banking licence in 2024 and offers QR and pay-by-bank payments that need no app download. The National Bank has also been building a 24/7 instant payment system with the World Bank, which it said in March 2025 would launch in the second half of 2026 and be compatible with SEPA schemes. It also said card systems would keep operating alongside it.
What rules shape online payments in Georgia?
Foreign sellers of digital services pay Georgian VAT. Since 1 July 2021, non-resident suppliers of digital services to consumers in Georgia have been liable for VAT at the standard 18% rate, with no minimum revenue threshold. A service counts as supplied in Georgia if any one indicator points there: the customer’s bank account is with a Georgian institution, the customer is physically in Georgia, the device’s IP address is Georgian, or the phone number has a Georgian code. Registration is a simplified online procedure on the Revenue Service platform, returns are quarterly by the 20th of the month after the quarter, and VAT can be paid in US dollars or euros.
Shoppers have a 14-day right to cancel. The Law of Georgia on the Protection of Consumer Rights, adopted on 29 March 2022, took effect on 1 June 2022, with the consumer protection agency’s enforcement powers following on 1 November 2022. For distance and off-premises contracts, a consumer may withdraw within 14 calendar days without giving a reason, counted from receipt of the goods or, for services, from the conclusion of the contract. The trader must refund the consumer within 14 calendar days of being told about the cancellation, and the consumer has 7 calendar days to send the goods back. The law lists exceptions, including sealed software or recordings that were unsealed after delivery and digital content whose supply began with the consumer’s prior consent.
Data protection rules were rewritten in 2024. A new version of the personal data protection law entered into force on 1 March 2024, and the obligation to appoint a personal data protection officer, which applies to certain sectors and to companies processing large volumes of data, followed on 1 June 2024. Merchants that collect Georgian customer data for payments, delivery and marketing should check their consent wording and processing records against it.
How does Omno route payments in Georgia?
Omno treats Georgia as a card market with a growing set of local alternatives. You connect once and set routing rules by method, currency and customer group:
- Card pay-ins in GEL can be routed by BIN, so cards from each Georgian issuer go to the acquirer your rules set for that issuer, with cascading to the next acquirer in the rule until one accepts.
- Wallet payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay are shown in the hosted checkout where the provider supports them, and follow the same routing rules as cards.
- QR and pay-by-bank payments can be offered as a separate method for customers who prefer not to use a card.
- Pay-outs use PSP eligibility rules, so they only go through providers that support GEL payouts to that customer’s card or account.
- Webhooks carry the final status of every transaction, which is the record your back office should use to confirm payments and release orders.
Customer groups let you show a different set of methods to first-time and returning customers, for example offering pay-by-bank only once a customer has reached a given customer verification level.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for refunds inside 14 days. Georgian law gives shoppers 14 calendar days to withdraw from a distance purchase and gives the trader 14 days to refund, so refunds need to run reliably back to the original card, wallet or account.
Plan for VAT if you sell digital services. A foreign seller of digital services to Georgian consumers registers through the Revenue Service platform and accounts for 18% VAT from the first sale, so checkout data such as billing country, IP address and card issuer country is worth keeping.
Plan for card performance. With most volume on cards, approval rate depends on issuer behaviour, 3-D Secure handling and acquirer choice, so a second acquirer and BIN-level routing pay off quickly.
Plan for GEL reconciliation. Settlement timing and fees differ between card acquirers and account-based methods, and the routing-decision log in Omno shows which provider handled each payment so finance teams can match settlements by route.