UniCredit in Bulgaria offers a new bank card to its customers, which combines POS lending with the characteristics of credit cards. Visa Classic Shopping Card is a collective product of UniCredit Bulbank, UniCredit Consumer Financing and Visa. The card is an international contactless credit card with a possibility for installment payment for purchases with a rescheduling fee, which is fixed and is a percentage of the purchase value.

Each card holder can choose to pay for his/her purchases with a price over BGN 100 in installments spread over 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 18, 24 or 36 months. The purchase can be deferred right on the spot at the respective store on a POS terminal. To further facilitate customers, UniCredit Bulbank provides the opportunity to reschedule purchases through Bulbank Mobile and Bulbank Online.

“Digitalization in favour of the customers is a priority for UniCredit Bulbank. The digital solutions we offer are simple and secure. The innovations that we introduce are based on data and that is why they are accepted very well by the customers. In this regard, according to market data, customers use cards more and more often to pay for the products they want. We think that the possibility for installment payment for purchases over BGN 100 will give more freedom to the customers to get the things that matter to them without any unnecessary burden on their budget.”, commented Teodora Petkova, Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Management Board of UniCredit Bulbank AD.

 “We are very happy with our cooperation with UniCredit in Bulgaria. We believe that our partnership reaffirms the aim of Visa to offer to our card holders solutions that meet their needs. Visa now offers similar products in other countries in the region and our experience shows that they are accepted very well by the customers”, commented Sevdalina Vasileva, General Manager of Visa for Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus.

According to data of the BNB and the ECB, the growth in the payments using physical terminal devices for 2019 is 27%. For the same period, the payments with credit cards in 2019 grew by 33%. According to data of UniCredit in Bulgaria, out of more than 1 million retail customers, 785 thousand customers have active debit cards and 122 thousand customers have active credit cards.

The profile of the credit card holder is a 44-year old man with a general secondary education qualification and an average monthly income of BGN 1500. The customers with such profile have an average credit card limit of BGN 2200.

“According to UniCredit Bulbank, 89% are payments at POS terminals with credit cards compared to the total number of transactions for the period September 2019 - July 2020, and every 6 transactions at a POS terminal with a credit card exceeds BGN 100. We believe that the new product will further facilitate customers who would like to buy the desired product in installments or prefer to buy goods on installment, saving them the application and approval procedure for each product they choose to pay on installment.”, explained Ivaylo Glavchovski, Executive Manager of UniCredit Consumer Financing.

According to data of UniCredit Bulbank, after the COVID crisis customers most often pay with cards for purchases in supermarkets, petrol stations and for shopping. Statistics shows that men are likely to spend more - around BGN 91, while women spend BGN 72 on average.

Goods on instalment credit terms are a preferred option also according to data of UniCredit Consumer Financing for 2020. Customers who opt for installment purchases are mostly men with an average income of BGN 1200 and a permanent employment contract. The average amount of the purchases they make is BGN 850.

Customers most often bought household appliances, with a share of 20.4%, followed by smart phones with 20% and electronic goods with a share of 16%.

The new Visa Classic Shopping card will expand the possibilities of customers who want to reschedule their purchases, but this has not been possible at the moment. Customers will be able to use it in various entities such as supermarkets, clothing stores, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, bookstores, gas stations, etc. In addition, the card provides also all possibilities for use of the standard credit cards such as payment on a POS terminal, online payments, payment of utility bills, bookings and ATM cash withdrawals.

It is simple and easy to request a Visa Classic Shopping Card in all channels of the bank – on unicreditbulbank.bg, by calling 0700 15 600 or at any branch of UniCredit Bulbank.

The clients of UniCredit Bulbank can also receive their bank card, including Visa Classic Shopping Card in their home office or at another convenient address in Bulgaria and activate it via E-PIN in Bulbank Mobile.

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Additional media information:

Victoria Blajeva, tel +359 (0) 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Beatris Nikolova, tel +359 (0) 2 9232 528, cfbusjt/ojlpmpwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Ekaterina Ancheva, tel +359 894 518 193 , flbufsjob/bodifwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch