The level of financial inclusion in Romania was estimated at 58% n 2017.
Currently, some 79% of users of banking products and services use a current account (including salary card). Men, aged 36 to 50 and with higher education, place first among current account users. The survey does not reflect a gap in the use of current accounts among rural population (79.5%) compared with the urban population (77.9%).
16% of respondents using banking product and services have contracted personal loans, 11% have ongoing mortgage loans, 36% hold a credit card (electronic shopping card), and 7% of respondents have an Overdraft. When it comes to saving money, 14% of respondents have bank deposits and 14% have savings accounts. A customer can simultaneously use more banking products and services.
The survey reveals an increased level of digitalization compared with the previous years, with this trend being accelerated also by the sanitary protection measures adopted during the pandemic. Among users of financial services, 43% make payments by card (point of sale – POS), 27% pay via Internet/Mobile Banking, and 61% of respondents said they withdraw cash from automated teller machines (ATMs). 14% of people who use the Mobile Banking application do that on a daily basis, the same as 10% of users of the Internet Banking application, with smartphones being the most used device for accessing the Internet/Mobile Banking service.
As regards the interaction with bank offices and the way of accessing banking products and services, over half of respondents (54%) said they go to the bank they work with less than once a month, 32% go there once a month and the rest of respondents said they go there more often. Over half of customers (54%) said they most often go to the bank to access banking products and services, and 25% choose to do that by phone. 80% of Romanians prefer the direct interaction with bank clerks in order to contract a bank loan, set up a deposit and open a bank account.
The survey was conducted in December 2020 by the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy (IRES), at the request of the Romanian Banking Association (ARB). The survey was conducted on a sample of 1,479 adult respondents, of whom 1,158 are users of banking services.