The Romanian pawn shop market will reach an estimated record level of RON 1.8 billion (EUR 360 million) this year after more and more Romanians choose to pawn valuables ranging from jewellery and electronics to bicycles and cars, according to an analysis carried out by KeysFin.

"The erosion of the purchasing power of Romanians is visible against the background of the persistence of inflationary pressures and the reduction of disposable income as a result of the increase in the cost of credit," said Diana Florescu, KeysFin economic analyst, quoted by G4media.ro.

In 2022, the market increased by 23% y/y and was twice as high as in 2013, reaching the highest level in history, over RON 1.6 billion (EUR 320 million).

The aggregated net result of pawnshops increased last year by 23% y/y and was 107% above the level of 2018, namely RON 402 million (EUR 80 million).

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Svitlana Kolchyk/Dreamstime.com)