With the introduction of the euro in our country, questions related to card payments also come up - will they change, will there be additional fees and will transactions become more secure. payments.
19 years after our accession to the European Union, from January 1, 2026 our country is also part of the eurozone. During the first month, payments will be possible in both currencies, and from the beginning of February we are switching only to the euro. For 6 months, banks will show the available balance in both currencies, but card payments are made only in euros. The change in card payments during the transition from leva to euro remained unnoticed by users.
„For people, switching to euro for card payments is like changing road signs, but not the road itself. The cards work the same way, they are not replaced, the PIN codes remain the same and there is no need for additional activation of the cards. The banking systems performed the currency conversion automatically, without people having to do anything extra“, explained Petar Krilchev - General Manager of Visa Bulgaria to BTV.
One of the main concerns when paying with a card is security. Many people are worried that their password could be stolen or the protection breached. According to Petar Krilchev, there is no reason to worry - because all safety measures have been taken.
„Payments do not become safer because of the currency itself, because we are part of one of the largest and most secure payment ecosystems in the world. Every transaction goes through a system that can be compared to a high-tech checkpoint,“ he says.
The main risk in card payments is not the system:
“Artificial intelligence, hundreds of risk indicators and verification in less than a second. Literally in a millisecond, the system can decide whether a payment is secure. In 2023 alone, we prevented $40 billion in fraud globally. This means that the Bulgarian consumer receives the same level of protection as consumers from the most developed European markets“.
Tokenization, artificial intelligence and behavioral analysis are part of the protection technologies that are constantly working. But the most vulnerable point remains the person.
“The person is more vulnerable than the system. Yes, that's why it's very important to talk about awareness. We expect there to be phishing attacks that will use the theme of the euro and you will receive messages like “activate your card“ and “confirm your account“ and the like. But the golden rule remains the same. Do not share your pincode, the three-digit number on the back of the card, codes and passwords with anyone. Neither by phone, nor by chat, nor by email“, advises the general manager of Visa Bulgaria.
Bulgaria has written a new chapter in the history of its currency. The good news is that in parallel with this, the responsible institutions have provided us with safe and easy payments in everyday life.