Romania, not unlike several other European Union states, wants to cap transaction fees on debit and credit cards to a maximum of 0.2% and 0.3% of a transaction, respectively.
The lower fees, which are in fact fees paid by retailers and businesses to banks every time consumers use their cards, might help reduce the pressure on retailers and could ultimately lead to lower prices for customers.
“It is our [the central bank’s] opinion that this will not happen, because of three major factors which cannot be corrected over a short period,” said Ruxandra Avram, a director with the central bank’s Financial Stability Division.
Speaking at a conference, Avram said the three key impediments are the small number of card users, the increased appetite of Romanian consumers for cash transactions and the low salaries.
“As long as these factors are still an issue, the measures will not have the expected impact,” the central bank’s official said.
According to central bank data, there were 14.1 million active cards in Romania at the end of 2013, of which 11 million were debit cards.