There were a total of almost 3 million credit cards in circulation at the end of last year, which had been used for 10 billion lei (over EUR2 billion) transactions, up 20% on 2016, Romania’s central bank data show.
Credit card purchases have gone up on the back of the rising consumer spending in the past few years, as well as a result of the increased promotion of such products by banks.
The volume of credit card transactions in Romania, however, cannot compare with the neighboring countries, where using credit cards for shopping is commonplace and the credit card is seen more like an instrument to manage one’s own money, i.e. buy in instalments without paying interest. In Romania, however, most customers are unable to repay their instalments on time, so they end up paying very high interests, about 20% to 30% a year, which has turned credit cards into one of the most profitable banking products in the country.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)