Since the beginning of December last year Bulbank started issuing of credit cards Visa and MasterCard with chip. Gradually all credit cards, at expiry, will be replaced with chip-based ones. Change before the expiry is also possible against a modest fee. Till now nearly 1000 (one thousand) credit cards are issues, featuring the chip in addition to the traditional magnetic strip

Parallel to the issuing of chip-cards, the renovation of ATM network of Bulbank finished and now all ATMs of the Bank process chip-cards. Organisation is put in place to modernize the POS-terminal network of the Bank. The ATMs of HVB Bank Biochim and Hebros Bank, also part of UniCredit Group in Bulgaria, are prepared to process chip-cards, the POS-terminals are in process of migration. After the merger of the three banks, all card products of the new bank will feature chip-technology and maximum security.

The chip-technology in the card makes practically impossible the skimming of the plastic or copy of the data, unlike the traditional magnetic strip. Unique for the card data are stored in the chip, known only by the issuing bank and required to complete a transaction. The chip-card has all functionalities of the traditional plastics and if the ATM or the POS-terminal cannot read the data from the chip, the transaction is completed based on the data in the strip.

Unlike the current purchase method, the cardholder signature is not enough to confirm a transaction via POS. The new chip-cards require the PIN code to be entered. This reduces significantly fraud possibilities in case the card is lost or stolen.

UniCredit Bulbank, created after the merger of Bulbank, HVB Bank Biochim and Hebros Bank, will serve more than 1.1 million clients. The total assets of the three banks now are more than BGN 7 billion.