The first chip payment cards should appear in Slovakia as early as this year, said VISA Cemea President Anne Cobb. Slovakia will thus join nine central-European countries, certified to accept chip cards and switch to the third generation of payment cards. „Chip cards contain a microchip with a substantially higher memory capacity and operating capability than bank cards with a magnetic strip,“ she said, adding that chip cards are faster, more effective and safer.

Most electronic apparatuses installed in Slovakia in the past two years are able to accept chip cards, they only require a software update, said the company’s regional manager for Slovakia, Miloslav Kozler.

VISA Cemea vice-president Ivan Remsik stated that Slovakia is a country with the highest density of electronic terminals per capita. There are 1,200 ATM machines and 10,000 trading points with the possibility to pay with a payment card in Slovakia.