Bulgarian Posts Stuck in the Past: No POS Terminals in State Offices, Hindering Digital Payments

Bulgarian Posts, a cornerstone of the country's communication infrastructure, faces criticism for its outdated payment systems, highlighting a stark contrast with the widespread adoption of digital transactions in modern society. Despite the prevalence of card payments even in neighborhood stores, state post offices remain devoid of POS terminals, limiting customers' payment options and hindering the transition towards a cashless economy, "Sega" reports.

Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov's response to inquiries from 'Revival' MP Dimo Drenchev sheds light on the extent of the issue, revealing that not a single state office of Bulgarian Posts is equipped with POS devices. The national representative asked the minister how many of the offices of "Bulgarian Posts" are not equipped with POS devices and in what time frame they are expected to be equipped. The answer is surprising and shocking - at this stage, there are no terminals anywhere in the network of the state enterprise, and therefore there is no way to pay for electricity, water or taxes, for example, with a debit card.

Gvozdeikov explained to Drenchev that in order to install their own POS devices, "registration as a payment institution and obtaining a corresponding license from the Bulgarian National Bank is necessary". And since "Bulgarian Posts" does not have such a license, it could not independently use the "Payment via POS terminal" service. Therefore, the state-owned company held a number of meetings with banks to discuss the conditions for installing and using their POS terminal devices in post offices. But the signing of a contract never came, the minister points out. "The search continues," added Gvozdeikov.

Behind these "expert" explanations lies a very prosaic and simple answer - "Bulgarian Posts" does not equip itself with POS devices because it does not want to pay fees and commissions. As early as 2020, the state-owned company said: "There are no terminals because the conditions offered to us by the banks are very unfavorable for us. At this moment, we cannot afford to install them."

Critics decry Bulgarian Posts' inertia in addressing this issue, pointing out the irony of small merchants successfully navigating partnerships with banks while a state entity with extensive reach struggles to do the same. The persistence of archaic payment methods in state offices stands in stark contrast to the tech-savvy preferences of Bulgarian consumers, many of whom favor digital payment solutions. According to data from the Bulgarian National Bank, over 7 million bank cards are actively used on the market.

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