In Estonia, one million card payments are made daily. According to the Estonian Retailers' Association, card payments accounted for 70 percent of in-store transactions last year. Due to this extensive use, the Bank of Estonia has classified card payments as an essential service that must function even during a crisis.

"The motivation behind this change is to be prepared for potential disruptions in the card payment system so that people can still complete their card transactions during such times. This will be critical for future purchases of necessities like food, fuel and medicine," explained Rainer Olt, head of the payment and settlement systems department at the Bank of Estonia.

Peep Jalakas, head of corporate banking at SEB, stated that this development does not impose significant additional tasks on banks.

"Not much changes for banks today. The technical capability is already present in card terminals," remarked Jalakas.

Offline payments will be limited to essential services, with transaction limits set in collaboration with international payment service providers. Contactless payments will not be possible without a network connection.

"People who are used to tapping their smartphones or smartwatches, which is now done by one-fifth of Estonians, will need to use their physical bank cards and confirm their purchases with a PIN code in such situations," said Olt.

He also advised setting aside cash for crisis situations to cover a household's expenses for one week.

The Bank of Estonia's regulation will take effect on January 1 next year. By then, it should be clear which service providers will accept card payments without an internet connection.

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