According to an analysis conducted by Global Payments, a world leader in providing technological payment services, the citizens of Great Britain and Ukraine were the foreigners who spent most money in Romania in March and April. They made more than 123,000 card transactions in the country in the two months, worth almost RON 16.5 million.

Tourists and expats from Great Britain spent the most in Romania in March and April. They made card payments of over RON 9.3 million through Global Payments terminals.

“If in April the British were in the first place (with RON 5.4 million), in March, Ukrainian citizens were the ones who spent the most money in Romania. That is, a record of RON 4.25 million and almost 34,000 transactions made through the services and technology of Global Payments,” the company said.

The record expenditure of Ukrainian citizens is linked to the large number of refugees who arrived in Romania in the past two months. According to data from the Romanian Border Police, 891,726 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania between February 24 (when the Russian invasion started) and May 8. Also, as of February 10, 2022 (pre-conflict period), 926,255 Ukrainians entered the country.

The same analysis found that Ukrainian citizens used the card to pay mainly for products purchased from supermarkets and pharmacies. They also bought fuel, engine oil or other consumables and car items but also paid for clothes or accommodation.

According to Cătălin Moise, Country Manager of Global Payments Romania, Ukrainian citizens spent an average of RON 125 per transaction in March and RON 108 in April 2022. By comparison, British tourists and expats made average transactions of RON 138.5 in March and about RON 154 in April.

“Of course, these were not the biggest transactions made in these two months, but they were numerous and generated a record of card payments made by Ukrainian citizens through us, in Romania,” Cătălin Moise said.

The Czechs made the largest average card transactions in Romania - almost RON 1,900 in March and over RON 1,600 in April. They mainly made business payments and are in sixth place in the top of foreigners who spent money in Romania.

According to the same source, those who came from the other neighbouring countries spent considerably lower amounts in Romania in April. Citizens of Hungary made card payments worth some RON 915,000, those from the Republic of Moldova spent about RON 478,000, and citizens of Bulgaria, about RON 372,000.

The top 4 places in the ranking of foreigners who spent money in Romania in the past two months were occupied and exchanged between the same countries of origin: Great Britain, Ukraine, the United States, and Germany. In April, US citizens took the second spot with RON 3.3 million spent in Romania, while the Germans were fourth, both in April - with RON 2.7 million, and in March - with RON 1.7 million.

The Global Payments solutions are used by customers in 100 countries. For merchants in Romania, the company processes annual transactions of approximately RON 6.5 billion and manages over 14,000 payment terminals.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Sonerbakir/Dreamstime.com)