Payment card

Bulgarian Posts, a cornerstone of the country's communication infrastructure, faces criticism for its outdated payment systems, highlighting a stark contrast with the widespread adoption of digital transactions in modern society.

The number of people with unpaid consumer loans and credit card payments declined by 11.6 percent last year from 2022 to 1.32 million, according to data Encazip compiled.

In 2022, nearly 1.5 million people failed to make consumer loans and credit card payments, according to the numbers of the Turkish Banks Association's (TBB) Risk Center.

The value of transactions with plastic money reached 62 billion euros in 2023, recording an increase of 15% compared to 2022, a rate that is expected to be maintained this year with a marginal slowdown, according to estimates by Mastercard, assessing the positive macroeconomic environment and, in particular, the universal mandatory introduction of point of sale devices (POS) in 35 new professio

The implementation of Point of Sale (POS) machines for credit and debit card transactions in farmer's markets will begin on Tuesday,  the Panhellenic Federation of Professional Sellers of Farmer's Markets announced Saturday.

This marks a new era for farmer's markets, obligating the universal use of POS machines to optimize service for both consumers and vendors. 

The Competition Commission late Thursday imposed fines totaling 41.7 million euros on five Greek banks, including four systemic ones, and the Hellenic Bank Association. The penalties were related to concerted practices in interbank systems, payment, and electronic transaction services.

Payments made with credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards stood at 836 billion Turkish Liras ($28.9 billion) in October, rising 122 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

Payments made with credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards hit 639 billion Turkish Liras ($23.7 billion) in June, rising 109 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

Total card payments grew 2 percent from May.

A Thessaloniki court has sentenced two people to ten years' imprisonment for their role in an ATM skimming operation in which the data of at least 665 bank cards were stolen.

Skimming is a way of stealing PINs and other information off credit and debit cards by rigging machines with hidden recording devices.

Some 14 percent of Turkish consumers use cash for everyday purchases, while 49 percent say they prefer credit cards, according to a survey by IPSOS.

Around 55 percent of those who chose cards say they don't have enough income to make payments in cash, while 32 percent say cards help them postpone payments for a month.

"In the near future, it will be possible to pay for administrative services in Bulgaria with bank cards issued abroad.

This is already a fact in the Ministry of Electronic Government", said Minister Bozhidar Bozhanov, who has received many signals about the problem. The ministry's virtual POS terminal now accepts foreign bank cards.