Nearly 75% of the Bulgarian consumers are willing to make payments using their smart phones instead of credit, debit card or cash, a survey of a card operator shows. Highest interest in this type of payment service is shown by Bulgarians aged between 18 and 22 and people aged between 35 and 44.

Currently, the mobile phones in Bulgaria are mainly used for phone calls (96%), access to social networks (77%) and Internet browsing (72%). 59% of the surveyed Bulgarians say that they use their mobiles to access their emails and 67% of them use their smart phones to make photos as well. The number of people who would use their smart phones for payments at point of sale (POS) terminals in shops has been growing in the past two years. A specially designed platform allows the issuers of payment cards to replace the numbers of the cards with protected digital symbols which are unique for each mobile device. Thus, each card becomes unique, works with a certain mobile number only and protects holders from thefts. The card data is kept safe and innovative platform blocks the service, if holders lose their cards. The first digital wallet for payment cards in Bulgaria was introduced in 2016.