Debit card

Plumbers, electricians, bars, restaurants and cafeterias are among the professional groups that will be forced to install card terminals and start accepting credit and debit card payments by the end of June.

The Finance Ministry has finally issued a list detailing the types of electronic spending - credit and debit cards, e-banking and money forwarding - that will count toward the income tax discount granted to most taxpayers as of this year.

Banks are raising their estimates for plastic money transactions in 2017 to 20 billion euros, compared to an estimate for 2016 of 15 billion euros. This concerns transactions made by Greeks using debit and credit cards and not including those by foreign visitors, which would raise the sum for this year to 17 billion.

The multi-bill that the Finance Ministry tabled at midnight on Monday is aimed at containing value-added tax evasion - which amounts to 6.5 billion euros per annum - through tax-related incentives for electronic transactions, and at making taxpayers reveal any hidden incomes.

Only taxpayers who make payments by credit and debit card will be entitled to claim a tax-free threshold as of next year, according to a bill the Finance Ministry tabled in Parliament midnight on Monday. However, there will be an exception for pensioners, who will be gradually introduced to the obligatory use of cards for the tax discount.

The use of credit cards in Bulgaria is becoming more widely spread, showed an analysis of one of the largest banks in Bulgaria.

Experts estimate a nearly 60% growth in the number of credit cards issued in 2015 and 2016, compared to 2014.

Taxpayers can stop collecting the receipts for retail purchases and throw away all those they have collected to date, as they will not count toward this year's tax-free allowance.

Nearly BGN 4 B have been spent with Bulgarian bank cards in 2015, showed the latest survey of a large card company.

According to a new report, the proliferation of payment cards in circulation nationwide grew 2.08% annually from 2009 to 2013, resulting in a figure of USD 8.5 M 2013. Thanks largely to increased awareness and new technologies such as contactless cards, the average transaction value also increased to USD 85.5 (15th in Europe).

The European Union is launching a project for the distribution of debit cards to refugees in Turkey to the amount of EUR 348 M, reported BNR.

The project is part of the agreement between the EU and Turkey for stopping the migrant flow towards Europe. It is considered to be the biggest humanitarian aid programme financed by the EU.