Bir Launches Azerbaijan's First In-App Sign Language Feature for Mobile Banking
Bir, the Azerbaijani digital banking, payments and e-commerce ecosystem, has rolled out an in-app video call service with sign language support inside its Birbank mobile app - the first feature of its kind in Azerbaijani banking and a notable accessibility milestone for the wider Caucasus region.
The service lives in a dedicated section of the Birbank app and lets customers with hearing or speech impairments place a confidential video call to a trained bank representative without visiting a branch or relying on a third-party interpreter. Calls are handled directly by Birbank staff, with availability on weekdays from 09:00 to 18:00. The bank's customer-facing employees who staff the channel completed a 72-hour intensive sign language training programme before going live.
Birbank first piloted the feature on International Sign Languages Day, 24 September 2025, and has iterated on it through Q4 2025 and into 2026 before this wider rollout. With more than 3 million active users, 121 branches and 52 service offices across Azerbaijan, Birbank is the country's largest retail bank by digital footprint, and the integration brings accessibility support into the product layer rather than treating it as a bolt-on call centre service.
Javid Mirzayev, Head of Fintech at the Bir ecosystem, said the launch reflected a broader inclusion mandate. "Expanding access to digital financial services is a key priority for us. Launching this inclusive feature reflects our broader mission to shape new habits and help fuel Azerbaijan's transition to the digital economy of the future. By embedding sign language support directly into the Birbank app, we are ensuring that digital banking and broader tech innovation benefits everyone."
Group chief executive Farid Huseynov framed the launch in stronger terms when the pilot went live last year, saying the bank had "removed one of the greatest barriers for our customers with hearing and speech impairments" by combining technology with human service.
The launch sits inside a wider ecosystem push. Bir now unites Birbank with the Birmarket e-commerce platform, Milliön payment terminals and the m10 e-wallet, alongside partnerships with the Trendyol marketplace and the BakıKart transport payment scheme. Single sign-in via Bir ID and a unified Bir Pay rail tie the consumer-facing services together, and management has been clear about the strategic intent - to build the Caucasus region's first fully integrated banking, payments and commerce ecosystem.
For Azerbaijan's deaf and hard-of-hearing community, the practical effect is independence. Routine banking conversations - card queries, transaction disputes, product questions - can now happen directly between customer and bank, in their first language, without an intermediary. For the wider regional banking sector, Bir has set a benchmark that competitors will be hard pressed to ignore.
