Georgia’s rapidly scaling, fully licensed digital bank earns international recognition in the UK publisher’s 2026 awards
hashbank has been named Best New Digital Bank Georgia 2026 in the Global Banking & Finance Review Awards, the international awards programme run by UK financial publisher GBAF Publications Ltd. The recognition caps a milestone year for hashbank, the fully licensed digital bank in Georgia.
The award recognizes new market entrants that combine innovation, customer experience, and measurable impact. hashbank pairs a full banking license with a digital-first product built for a mobile generation. That combination sets it apart in the Georgian market and across the wider region.
For hashbank, this recognition is the result of the unique ecosystem the bank has built in a remarkably short time since launching its operations in the Georgian market. In their assessment, international experts cited the bank’s innovative “borderless” model, which grants its customers complete financial freedom by integrating traditional banking services, cross-border transfers, and digital assets (crypto) into a single, fully regulated, and secure space.
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The bank’s strategic vision and rapid pace of development are directly reflected in its numbers. Within five months after launch, hashbank attracted over 40,000 fully verified customers, confirming strong market demand for a modern, flexible, and universal banking experience.
Licensed by the National Bank of Georgia, hashbank was founded by Volodymyr Nosov, Lasha Papashvili, and Sulkhan Papashvili in 2022. It is a mobile-first digital bank built on a simple idea: banking should feel human, and it should work without borders or bureaucracy. The bank brings fiat currency and digital assets together in a single app.
Commenting on the award, Goga Chanadiri, CEO of hashbank, said: “This award is a significant international recognition for hashbank, but what matters most to us is the value we deliver to our customers. We haven’t just created another banking app—we are building a universal ecosystem for both individuals and businesses where financial borders no longer exist. By combining traditional reliability with digital innovation, we continue to establish a new, global standard for interacting with money.”
Why it matters:
hashbank is an emerging disruptor and tech leader in the Georgian market. It is an industry pioneer in the region, becoming the first to fully launch Mastercard Move for cross-border transfers and to elevate its SWIFT partnership to the highest modern standards (SWIFT Essentials). A crucial milestone in its technological advancement is the integration of Mastercard Move, SEPA, and Visa Direct. The bank implemented these cutting-edge technological services in record time, making international transfers instant, accessible, and simple for its customers. In March 2026, hashbank expanded its multi-year partnership with Visa by introducing a welcome bonus paid in Bitcoin.
hashbank holds the same class of authorization as an established commercial bank, allowing it to take deposits and lend in its own right, rather than the lighter e-money or payment permissions many app-based banks rely on. In addition to a multi-year Visa agreement, Mastercard payments, and international SWIFT transfers, hashbank is built as a mobile-first concept, offering a core value proposition of borderless financial agility without bureaucracy.
Unlike other digital banks, hashbank is looped into its sister company, WhiteBIT, which is Europe’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by traffic. This offers users crypto capabilities are integrated directly into hashbank’s own structure, with the group serving approximately eight million users on the platform itself and around 35 million across its broader ecosystem.
For hashbank, this international recognition is more than just an acknowledgement of the progress achieved to date. It further reinforces the premise that success in modern banking is driven by the right balance of innovation, a unique customer experience, the needs of the business segment, and technological advancement—the exact principles that form the foundation of Global Banking & Finance Review’s evaluation criteria.
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