Visa Europe sees double digit growth in Romania

Visa Europe announced last week another year of double digit growth in Romania for the financial year 2009, as card uptake continues. According to the statistics, total transactions with Visa cards are up 23.2 percent by number and 32 percent by value, while the number of cards in circulation has increased by 5.4 percent to 6.2 million.

The most significant change is in payment behavior at merchants. Romanian Visa cardholders spent 43.5 percent more through this channel, while the number of transactions rose by 42.5 percent. The share of retail sales using Visa cards accounted for 2.2 percent of all personal payments, meaning that EUR 1 in every EUR 45 spent in Romania was on a Visa card. In the reported year (June 2008-June 2009), 26 percent of Visa transactions were made at merchants, while the volume spent in stores on Visa represented 12 percent of the total spend on the cards. In 2008, transactions at merchants made up 22.7 percent out of total transactions and 11.6 percent of total value. The average transaction value at POS remains EUR 45, similar to the level registered in 2008.

Anda Dragan