The Limit for Contactless Payments without a PIN in Bulgaria will Become 50 BGN.

Cardholders for non-contact payments Mastercard and Maestro will now be able to cover up to leva 50 bills without entering a transaction approval PIN. The increase of the current limit of BGN 20 will come into force on April 12, the operator of these cards announced.

The change was made because of significantly increased contactless payments in Bulgaria - 151% over the past year, which is well above the European average, with a steady upward trend.

As of August 2018, 48% of all payments in shops in Bulgaria were made with non-contact smart cards, according to the data. An even higher rate is expected for the entire 2018, which will be presented in 2019 in the traditional Master Index, a global survey of trends in payment development and consumer experience that the company makes every year. The rapid pace of growth suggests that it is a matter of several years for the new generation of cards to fully cover the market.

The average value of one transaction in the country amounts to 58 leva, which makes the new limit of 50 leva better adapted to the current financial needs of the users and further shows the maturity of the Bulgarian market for this step, the card operator said. The announcement adds that "the development of contactless technology makes it possible to integrate it into phones and clocks, turning them into digital portfolios."

The method of non-contact payments in Bulgaria is most often used in retail chains, petrol stations, restaurants, cafes and fast food restaurants.

Increasing the limit for non-contact transactions will allow a significant increase in the speed and convenience of much of the non-contact payments, which is consistent with demand for high-tech solutions by users. Increasing the limit for...