Bir launches AI payment assistant in Azerbaijan's m10

Bir has launched Ey-ay in its m10 digital wallet app, calling it Azerbaijan's first AI-powered payment assistant for an e-wallet.

Ey-ay lets users pay utility and phone bills through a chat interface inside the app, rather than navigating separate menus. It can also help users find other services available in m10.

The launch adds a new layer to m10, which already offers local and international money transfers, bill payments, QR payments and public transport payments by mobile phone. Bir said the assistant is intended to make routine transactions simpler for customers using digital financial services.

The move comes as digital payments continue to gain ground in Azerbaijan, where cash remains an important part of everyday spending. Bir is positioning the assistant as a way to remove some of the practical and behavioural barriers that still limit wider use of digital tools.

m10 sits within a broader consumer platform that combines banking, payments and eCommerce services. That network includes Birbank, the Birmarket online shopping platform and Milliön, a national cash-in payment terminal network.

Bir said its ecosystem now reaches more than 5 million users, which it described as close to half of Azerbaijan's population. The group also works with partners including Trendyol in online retail and BakıKart in transport payments.

The assistant is one of the first examples in Azerbaijan of a conversational tool built directly into a consumer payments app for everyday use. Rather than acting only as a support chatbot, Ey-ay is designed to complete transactions inside the wallet.

Digital shift

Bir has framed the approach as much around changing user habits as technical convenience. Chat-based interfaces are becoming a familiar format across consumer apps, and financial groups have increasingly tested whether customers are more likely to complete routine actions when those tasks are presented in a conversational format.

In practical terms, the aim is to reduce the number of steps between opening an app and completing a payment. That can be especially relevant for lower-value, frequent transactions such as mobile top-ups, utilities and transport, which often determine how regularly users return to a wallet.

For Bir, the addition also strengthens m10's role within its wider ecosystem by giving users another entry point to services already housed in the app. A customer using the assistant for a bill payment may also be directed to other functions without having to search through the interface manually.

Maksim Evdokimov, Chief Product, Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at Bir, said: "People expect digital services to be fast and intuitive. With Ey-ay, users can complete everyday payments through a simple chat, making the experience more convenient and accessible. By combining finance with the way people already communicate, we're helping make digital payments easier for everyone and supporting Azerbaijan's transition towards a more digital economy."

Wider ecosystem

Bir was launched to bring together several established consumer brands under one umbrella in Azerbaijan. Alongside m10, the group combines retail banking, online commerce and payment acceptance, giving it multiple channels through which users can move money, shop and pay bills.

That breadth may matter in a market where digital adoption often depends on how easily consumers can move between services they use every day. A wallet linked to transport, commerce, transfers and utility payments has more chances to become a regular part of household spending than a standalone product focused on a single task.

The presence of Milliön terminals in the network also reflects the continued link between cash and digital services. Cash-in infrastructure can help bridge the gap for users who are not fully banked or who still rely on cash income, while mobile tools such as m10 offer a route into digital payments.

By integrating an AI assistant into that environment, Bir is testing whether ease of use can drive more activity from existing customers rather than relying only on new user growth. With a user base of more than 5 million across its ecosystem, even small shifts in how often people make digital payments could have a noticeable effect on transaction volumes.

Bir said Ey-ay is designed to help users complete payments "through a simple chat, making the experience more convenient and accessible."