Cretu estimated the value of online card payments will continue to increase in 2012 to exceed EUR1 billion by the end of the year.
Citing Romcard data, Cretu said online card payments in Romania in 2011 grew 24% on the year to about EUR160 million.
“If we add online payments made with Garanti Bank and Credit Europe Romania cards, the value of transactions hits about EUR200 million,” he said.
According to central bank data, the value of payments made with debit cards neared 17 billion lei (EUR3.9 billion) in 2011, from about RON14 billion a year before.
Central bank data also show Romanians own over 13 million cards. (EUR1=RON4.3688)