Albania - one of the countries with the highest dependence on cash in Europe, has seen a sharp increase in card payments payments this year, after the state introduced a legal obligation for businesses to install ΠOC terminals, SNA reported.
ΠAccording to data from the Central Bank of Albania, by mid-2026 the number of active ΠOC terminals reached 38,662 - an increase of 23.7% since the beginning of the year and 38.2% year-on-year.
Since 2020 where the bpoyat of the terminals ce e ytpoil.
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ΠAmendments to the tax legislation, read by the Albanian Parliament at the end of 2025, introduced the obligation for businesses (with some exceptions) to have ΠOC terminals for electronic payments.
For companies at the beginning of the process, The transport and public enterprises obligation entered into force at the end of May this year.
The measure is part of a larger goal of Prime Minister Edi Pama - by 2030, Albania will become the first fully cashless economy in the world. ΠThe proposal proposes a ceiling on payments in numbers, integration into the European SERA system by October, and subsequently the introduction of instant payments.
The initiative aims to limit the grey economy, which according to the European Commission reaches between 29% and 50% of the GDPΠ on the side.
However, the implementation is facing serious distrust in the banking system - barely 34% of Albanians trust banks, and less than half have a bank account, according to World Bank data. The country's former deputy prime minister, Genc &Piolo, described the plan as an attack on personal freedom, and that too through excessive measures: "This is like killing chickens with artillery."
&Pilots are retreating in numbers
Against skepticism, statistics are already showing a reversal. Πduring the first six months of 2026, 16 million card payments were registered at ΠOC terminals in Albania - a growth of 28% compared to the same period last year.
Since last year, the number of card payments at ΠOC has steadily exceeded the number of ATM withdrawals.
For every 100 transactions with payment cards, about 56 are now payments at ΠOC, and the rest - withdrawals or deposits in numbers.
The total value of card payments for the six months reached 58.3 billion. cards - up 21% year-on-year, as their share of the total value of card transactions rose to 18.3% from 17.4% a year earlier.
The growth of foreign tourists is among the main drivers behind the increase in card payments, but the growing number of businesses accepting cards is also attracting more local consumers to cashless payments. payments.