The association said that if operators implement electronic payment systems from June 1, the standard urban bus fare of 40 leks could rise to as much as 70 leks for passengers paying by bank card because of transaction fees charged by banks.

According to the association, the fixed fee alone for a POS transaction reaches 30 leks, excluding additional commissions applied to VISA and MasterCard payments as well as terminal operating costs.

In a letter addressed to the finance, economy and infrastructure ministries, the General Directorate of Taxation, the Tirana municipality and road transport authorities, operators requested clarification on how the system would be implemented and who would bear the associated costs.

The association said banks had communicated fees of up to 2.7% for domestic VISA and MasterCard transactions and up to 3.2% for international cards, in addition to a fixed 30 leks fee per transaction. Other costs include a 5,000 leks installation fee, monthly maintenance charges of 1,000 lek, terminal costs of up to 50,000 leks in some contractual arrangements, and a 500 leks “chargeback” commission per case.

Operators also sought clarification on whether POS terminals would be mandatory on every bus, whether the costs would be covered by the state, operators or passengers, and whether subsidies or a transition period would be introduced.

The association further called for a unified electronic ticketing system for public transport, including options such as city travel cards, QR codes or mobile applications.

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During a joint meeting with INNVEST and the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, Director of Payment Systems, Accounting and Finance at the Bank of Albania Ledia Bregu pointed at cases of temporary, single-use accounts designed to capture social benefits.

“Since 2018, non-cash payments per capita have surged from 4.3 to over 26, marking significant progress in digitalization. While this marks a major improvement, we still lag behind European standards, where per capita transactions exceed 50 to 80 annually”, said Bregu.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation Enkelejd Musabelliu emphasized the new mandate requiring POS systems in travel and hospitality, aiming to streamline digital payments and reduce fees for businesses.

“To accommodate the diverse payment methods of international visitors, we must implement robust, low-cost digital payment solutions. For this initiative to succeed, electronic transaction fees must be lower than cash handling costs”, said Musabelliu.

The Bank of Albania is cutting interchange fees to lower electronic payment costs for local merchants. However, mandating POS terminals is a step toward modernization, but it must be accompanied by fiscal incentives to ease the burden on merchants. Despite upfront costs, these measures will formalize the economy and, in the long run, boost tax collection.

“Our cashless strategy lacks tax incentives, which are crucial. Data indicates that targeted incentives for merchants using digital payments are highly effective at bringing shadow economy transactions into the formal sector,” Bregu added.

To foster competition and expand payment choices, the Bank of Albania is developing an instant system enabling QR-code mobile payments at retail points. /a.f/p.s./

Ibrahimaj stated that, “Albania has achieved a high level of digital transformation, with 98% of public services provided online, ranking the country in the eighth place in the European Union and among the top 20 countries in the world for the provision of digital public services”.

“If digitalization is not linked to the digitalization of payments to reduce cash, our economy will not be able to get the most out of this digitalization”, said Ibrahimaj, emphasizing the necessity of reducing the use of physical money in order to achieve a more efficient and transparent economy.

Ibrahimaj announced that the Ministry of Economy and Innovation has prepared a comprehensive plan of measures to promote digital payments, which will be widely discussed in the coming weeks with all stakeholders involved in the payment chain, including the banking sector and public institutions.

“Every business must have a POS for card payments,” said Ibrahimaj, who announced the new policy requiring all merchants to be equipped with at least one electronic payment device by 2026.

“This is one of the first steps towards achieving our objective “Cashless Albania 2030”, an objective that will contribute to reducing informality and improving performance and innovation in the economy”, added the minister.

Minister Ibrahimaj thanked “Mastercard” for its cooperation in the implementation of the POS program and in the drafting of the plan of measures for the coming years, as well as the Bank of Albania for its important role in the development of digital payments and electronic banking. /k.s/a.f/p.s./

The Bank of Albania announced today that, at the end of the first quarter of 2021, the number of electronic points of sale- POS payments offered by the BoA has reached 150.

According to the BoA, commercial banks have added eight virtual POSs that are terminals that enable card payments through the websites of various businesses or institutions.

There are currently over 1.3 million active bank cards on the market. While, last year, the monthly average of transactions reached ALL 2.1 billion. //a.i./