Mobile payments

Card transactions have soared 30% this year, largely thanks to the growth in online commerce as a result of the pandemic, according to figures compiled by Mastercard.

Smart devices and a booming global eCommerce market have driven the rapid adoption of digital payments worldwide. Digital payments have changed the payment industry traditionally dominated by cash and credit cards, offering consumers lower fees and faster transfers at the touch of a button.

Viva Wallet, the company which operates the vast majority of card terminals in Greece, as well as being active in six other countries, said on Monday its equipment has been upgraded and now accepts contactless payments without the card user having to punch in their PIN for amounts up to 50 euros, as banks had requested.

Contactless payments via credit and debit cards have soared across Turkey in February and March, the Interbank Card Center (BKM) chairperson has said.

Payments made by contactless cards and mobile payments constituted some 15 percent of all market or store shopping in February, some 10 percent higher than the rate in the same month of 2019, Soner Canko said.

Visitors to China can now access the country's massive cashless economy, CNN reported. They will now be able to use mobile payments in mainland China, the largest company in the Alipay sector, owned by giant Alibaba, said on Tuesday.

Apple Pay is officially in Bulgaria. The payment service via iPhone is available with a Revolut digital bank account. The British fine-tech company, which has begun work in Bulgaria in April, will maintain its service in 11 new countries: Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. they also use it abroad.

5 years ago, Bulgarians were paying mostly by card for items of higher value such as black and white goods. Last year, the focus clearly shifted to smaller daily payments, according to data from the Bulgarian digital phyre wallet.

Apple Pay makes its way to Bulgaria. The British fintech Monese has officially announced that it will start offering this service to its customers in 13 new countries, including ours.

Apple Pay gives you the opportunity to pay with your iPhone or Apple Watch by typing your card number in the special app. With the NFC chip you can pay anywhere you pay with a contactless card.

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.

Bulgarian company phyre opens office in Romania, announced from there. The start-up offers a mobile phone payment service and a free transaction from one user to another through an application. phyre already has 25,000 active users in Bulgaria. The company has decided to expand its operations in Romania because of the similarity of the two markets.