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Public transport still without POS after deadline/ Letter to banks on tariffs and conditions

2026-06-01 15:08:00, Aktualitet CNA

Public transport still without POS after deadline/ Letter to banks on tariffs

The expiration of the deadline set for paying for bus tickets by bank card has found urban and intercity transport operators still without the POS systems necessary to carry out this process (May 31 was the deadline for installing the equipment).

Although the deadline has passed, leaders of transport associations claim that operators have not yet been equipped with electronic terminals that would allow citizens to pay for tickets using bank cards. As a result, payments on public transport lines continue to be made only in cash.

The President of the National Association of Urban Transport, Kostandin Foni, told Monitor that the failure to start the process is related to the lack of clarification from the responsible institutions regarding the costs incurred by the implementation of the electronic payment scheme, as well as the technical conditions that must be met for the installation of POS devices on buses.

According to him, the National Association of Urban Transport on May 29, 2026, addressed a request to 13 banks operating in the country, requesting detailed information on the costs and financial conditions of implementing the system.

In the letter addressed to the banks, the operators requested information on equipment installation fees, maintenance costs, commissions that will be applied to each transaction, as well as the possibility of offering preferential tariffs for the public transport sector.

"After receiving this information, it is necessary for tax institutions, responsible ministries, public transport operators and banks to sit at a common table to clarify all costs associated with the process. It is still unclear who will bear the cost of the fixed fee of 30 lek for the commission for each transaction," says Foni.

One of the main issues that remains unclear, according to transport associations, is who will be billed for the commissions and fees arising from electronic payments. They want to know whether the costs will be subsidized by the state, charged to transport companies or transferred to passengers through the ticket price.

The sector also requests clarification on the costs of internet connection, necessary for the operation of POS terminals, as well as on the costs associated with training invoicers and personnel who will use the new system.

Operators argue that the transition to electronic payments is a process that requires additional investments and that its implementation cannot be achieved without a clear division of financial responsibilities between institutions, banks and transport companies.

Awaiting responses from the banking sector and state institutions, transport operators say they remain unclear on how to implement the obligation for card payments, despite the fact that the deadline has expired.

Due to uncertainties about the costs of the process, transport associations requested an extension of the deadline for installing the POS system.

At the request of the operators, the Tax Administration, in a statement to Monitor, clarified that no extensions of the deadlines for installing POS devices in public transport, an obligation already defined in law, are foreseen, but emphasized that immediate penalties are foreseen for the entities and that the operators must begin preparations for the implementation of the process. /Monitor