A double limit will be available today - April 12, for the owners of MasterCard bank cards for non-contact payments. Instead of the current BGN 25, they will be able to pay up to BGN 50  without entering a pin code, the company said.

The increase for the non-contact payment limit applies to all  cards with the Mastercard logo. Changes in the limit for a non-contact payment, without the need for a PIN, are likely to have the Visa logo cards, but so far no such move has been announced.

This is a standard step in the development of the market towards the introduction of innovative payment methods, commented financiers.

According to data from the BNB and MasterCard, non-contact payments increased by 151% for the past year, well above the European average.

The average value of one transaction is BGN 58. The new BGN 50 limit reflects the current financial needs of consumers and shows the maturity of the Bulgarian market for this step, argued by MasterCard.

Increasing the limit for non-contact transactions would allow a significant increase in the speed and convenience of a large proportion of consumers. The introduction of non-contact payments is directly related to the adaptation of mobile payments and their popularization in the country and abroad.

Bulgaria ranks among countries such as France, Austria, Germany and Italy with the highest limit on the value of a contactless transaction.