Bulgarians will make credit and debit card "Christmas" purchases in the amount of BGN 25 M, according to banks estimates.

Banks in Bulgaria have registered a boom in card purchases with expectations they will double in December.

With the increase of a number of card terminals at shopping places, card transactions in 2012 have reached 30% for purchases while the other 70% are ATM cash withdrawals.

Because of the trend, banks have upped card transaction security to prevent skimming, such as debit cards where the transaction is recorded entirely on the card chip, or sending the customer a short text message, SMS, when the card has been charged, bTV reports, citing bank experts.

Women in Bulgaria own more debit and credit cards than men, and the number of female card owners has doubled in the last two years, according to bank statistics.

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