How to pay utility bills in Armenia

Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, utilities must be paid either way. When concluding a lease, you need to discuss with the landlord whether utility bills are included in the rental price. Most often, the landlord imposes the obligation to pay for the communal apartment on the tenants. In this case, he will provide all the necessary details - something like a personal account for each payment point and a phone number to which these accounts are linked. If the landlord does not know the phone number, you can find it out at any post office (Haypost), giving the employee the address of the apartment. 

You will need to pay:

• water;
• gas;
• electricity;
• landline phone (if you use one);
• operation of the elevator (as a rule, payment is collected once a month by the senior person at the entrance. The cost of using the elevator varies from 500 to 1,500 drams).

Let's talk about these payments in more detail:

1. About prices
2. When to pay?
3. Where to call?
4. How to pay an invoice?
   1. If you don't have a bank card
   2. If you have a bank card

About prices

The price tag for utilities differs depending on three factors - the time of year, the area and the area of \u200b\u200bthe house or apartment. For example, in Avan the cost of utilities is higher, since this area is located in a mountainous area, and the temperature there is on average lower than in flatter areas.
There is no central heating in Armenia, so the temperature of the water in the tap and in the radiators is regulated using gas. Depending on the time of year, the price tag for gas can increase tenfold: from 3 to 50,000 drams per month gas can cost in an apartment of 65 square meters. m in Davtashen, and in a private house 112 sq. m bill during the peak period can reach 85,000.

When to pay?

Account data arrives every month no earlier than the 10th of the next month. Bills must be paid by the 20th. If the bills are not paid, employees of the management company may come to you with a warning. Or they may immediately turn off gas, electricity or water for non-payment. 

Where to call?

If you are late with your payment and the services are disconnected, you can use an emergency solution to the problem. You can try contacting the property management company directly and letting them know that you will be paying your bills soon. If you can reach an agreement, utility service employees will explain where the meters are located in your house, and you will be able to lift the switch yourself, regaining your ability to use the services.

Do not abuse this method - if after such a call you violate your payment obligations, the disconnection will be more peremptory, and you will not be able to restore it so easily. 

Light and water can be turned off not only for non-payment. It is important to be aware that in some areas of Yerevan electricity and water are often cut off, but they warn about this in advance. You can find out the news in the Telegram channel "Armenia housing and communal services" or "Yerevan", as well as on websites Veolia Jur (water) and "Electric Networks of Armenia".

How to pay an invoice?

There are several ways. Most often, the meters are located outside the apartment, and their readings are taken by utility workers. But sometimes, especially in new houses, meters are located in the apartment, next to the bathroom. In this case, an employee comes and takes a photo of the testimony or leaves a phone number so that the residents themselves send the photo to Viber or WhatsApp. Employees regularly remind you of the need to do this with polite messages.

If you don't have a bank card

1. You can pay bills in terminals MobiDram, EasyPay, Telcell, iDramlocated in shopping malls, supermarkets and other public places. You must be registered in advance - this is easy to do on the website of the payment system. After registration nFind the nearest payment terminal and follow the instructions on the screen to pay utility bills. In most terminals, you can choose between Russian, Armenian and English. In the appropriate fields, you must enter your data, select the utility payment service and pay the bill in cash or debit the amount from the electronic wallet. One of the peculiarities of this method — is that if you pay the bill with a large bill, most likely you will not receive change. However, there is no need to worry. — the remaining amount will be counted towards payment next month. There may also be a small transaction fee at the terminals.
2. Haypost (HayPost) — national postal operator of the Republic of Armenia. To pay utility bills, you can visit any HayPost branch. Before you go, be sure to find out the phone number to which the account is linked, or your own accounts for each service.
3. The same scheme is possible in any branch of the bank. Here you also need to know the account numbers and phone numbers. Be prepared for lines.

 

If you have a bank card

1. The easiest and fastest way — is to pay your bill through your mobile banking app. All banks in Armenia have applications; bill payments are made there literally by touch. The bank card must be linked to the application.
2. Payment systems MobiDram, EasyPay, Telcell, iDram, which were already mentioned above, also exist in the form of mobile applications and websites.
   Payment systems have electronic wallets, to which you do not need to link a bank card, and also provide additional services, for example, the ability to take out a loan or receive cashback on an electronic wallet.