SLOVAKS are using debit cards increasingly often, according to the TASR news agency. A rising number of bank services and retailers accept point of sale (POS) transfers, the electronic payments processing company Transacty Slovakia (TS) said.
In 2004 transactions using ATMs and the POS network rose by Sk4.5 million (€120,000) year-on-year to 83 million transactions, worth a total of more than Sk113 billion (€2.9 billion).
ATM use accounted for 70 percent of the transactions. The largest number of transactions (156,173) occurred on December 23. Transacty Slovakia's connection to 920 ATMs and 8,900 POS terminals allowed it to handle 1.7 million cards last year.
According to TS the figures show that debit cards have become popular with the majority of the population and the company expects further growth in 2005.
