933 thousand card transactions in the first 48 hours of the launch of the euro

Activity in card payments and ATM operations is high, according to a press release from BORICA AD. In the period January 1 - 2, 2026, BORICA reports that a total of over 933 thousand transactions were made through the national card and payment infrastructure at POS terminals and ATMs (automatic teller machines) worth nearly 42 million euros.

The data of BORICA AD - the technology company providing the national payment infrastructure, outline a well-defined pattern - non-cash payments dominate in number (over 86%), and ATM operations (withdrawals and deposits) dominate in value (over 52%).

For the first 48 hours, the system processed over 804 thousand POS transactions worth over 20 million euros, with an average amount of nearly 25 euros per payment.

ATM withdrawals are over 125 thousand transactions worth over 18 million euros, with an average amount of 144 euros per withdrawal. ATM deposits are nearly 3,500 transactions worth nearly 3.8 million euros, with an average amount of nearly 1,100 euros per deposit.

The intensity for the period is nearly 19,446 transactions per hour (about 324 operations per minute), or 5.4 operations per second, i.e. over five card transactions were made every second.

The data from the first 48 hours send a clear signal that cashless payment is now a basic expectation, not an "extra", BORICA also points out and adds that with over 86% of the number of payments via POS, merchants without the possibility of cashless payment are effectively excluding themselves from the most active flow of customers and purchases in the new currency environment.

Bulgaria entered the eurozone with a functioning, intensively used and technologically modern card and payment infrastructure, which successfully coped with the first real stress test of euro transactions in the first 48 hours thanks to the coordinated work of the BORICA team, banks and participants in the financial sector.