Only 35% of Romanians living in rural areas have a bank account, the figure being much lower than the one registered in small cities – 78%, and in large cities – 85%.

The figures are presented in a study by market research agency Brandberry, commissioned by online electronic payment platform NOCASH, reports local News.ro.

The study also shows that a quarter of those who said that they don’t have a bank account also declared that they had one but decided to close it.

“The “abandonment” of banking and financial services is more pronounced in the case of rural population. According to the results, 80% of those who are living in the countryside and had a card don’t want to make a new one, as opposed to 80% of those living in urban areas who want to open a new card account,” reads the statement.

Moreover, more than 50% of urban Romanians receive their salaries on their credit cards, compared to only 23% of those who live in villages. However, 95% of Romania’s population uses cash often and very often. That is why, most of them (36.6%) would want to have a pharmacy close to their home, 32.2% would like to have a medical office nearby, and 27.9% would want an ATM close to their home. Banks rank eighth in Romanians’ preferences.

However, according to the study, Romanians’ appetite for e-commerce is increasing. In the first nine months of this year, 20% of respondents shopped from Romanian online stores, and 6% from online stores abroad.

The study was conducted between October 10 and October 21 on a sample of over 1,000 people.

The first cards appeared in Romania 20 years ago, issued by Visa. The first ATM was also installed then, allowing people to withdraw money. Today, there are more than 15 million cards on the local market.

Romania records over 84 million online payments this year

Romanians still prefer cash to card payments

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com