POS obligation, how much has card payments changed? - BoS: Terminals increased significantly, but transactions have had normal growth
Many businesses have responded to the Tax Administration's request to be equipped with a POS terminal for card payments by May of this year. This is shown by the figures of the Bank of Albania, according to which in the first half of 2026 the number of POS terminals increased by almost 24% compared to last year. This is about 7,399 new terminals that were received by businesses from January to June. In total, there are 38 thousand POS in Albania. But how many of these terminals are actually used?
Accommodation structures (guesthouses, apartment blocks, motels, bed and breakfasts, hotels, distributed hotels, resorts and cultural heritage accommodation structures), those providing services in the transport sector and public institutions or companies with state capital, were obliged to be equipped with POS/POI at every point of sale. Taxpayers who make cash sales must now offer another alternative for making payments, which is by card. However, the fact that the number of businesses that now own a POS terminal has increased thanks to this obligation does not necessarily lead to their use.
According to the latest data from the Bank of Albania, the number of transactions with POS terminals has increased slightly during these months. The increase appears to be normal, similar to the trend of previous years, without a major impact from the obligation imposed this year for the installation of POS terminals. Specifically, 16 million were the number of card payments made on these devices in the first 6 months of this year, up from 12.5 million in the same period last year. During this year, the highest increase was recorded in March.
In terms of the value of card payments, 58 billion lek have circulated through POS in 6 months, up from 48.3 billion in the same period a year ago.
However, the gap between the number of businesses and the number of POS terminals remains very large. According to INSTAT, 250 thousand were active legal entities in 2025, while the market offers only 38 thousand POS terminals. However, not all businesses need such a terminal.
By the end of this year, businesses in other sectors are also required to be equipped with a POS.
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