POS, the new challenge for Albanian trade - What is the relationship between businesses and electronic devices for card payments?
Many businesses, but few POS terminals. At a time when the world is moving towards more card payments and less cash, the ratio between the number of commercial units in Albania and POS terminals used for card purchases is very small.
The Minister of Economy and Innovation, Delina Ibrahimaj, recently stated that every commercial unit should be equipped with at least one POS terminal by 2026. According to data from the National Business Center (NBC), by March 2025, the number of businesses registered in Albania reached over 252 thousand.
Undoubtedly, not all businesses need a POS terminal, but considering the fact that the sector with the most businesses is that of wholesale, retail and repair of vehicles and motorcycles, with 93,827 entities or 37.2% of the total, or accommodation and food service with 17.3%, the impact will be considerable.
Such a decision that makes it mandatory to own an electronic payment instrument would affect a large number of commercial entities.
Statistics from the Bank of Albania show that 1,292 new POS terminals were installed in the third quarter of this year, bringing their total number to over 29 thousand. Thus, the ratio to the number of registered businesses is very small. A rough estimate shows that only about 11.6% of active businesses in Albania have a POS terminal (without taking into account the fact that a supermarket, for example, may have more than 2 POS terminals or that some businesses do not need such equipment).
Meanwhile, there is no data on the number of passive POSs, meaning a business may have a terminal, but not use it or set a high limit of 1,500 lek or 300 lek for the customer to use, because the commissions the bank charges from the use of this device are high.
Therefore, the imposition of this obligation is expected to be accompanied by other mitigating measures from the Ministry of Finance regarding the purchase and use of such a terminal, which could include a reduction in commissions that currently range from 2%-3%.
Such a decision is made with the aim of reducing cash in the economy and consequently reducing informality.
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