Transfond, which operates the interbank payments automated clearing house, and the Romanian Association of Banks have officially launched the domestic payment system RoPay, which allows transfers from account to account without the intermediation of card operators such as Visa or Mastercard.

"RoPay differentiates itself from other payment solutions through speed, lower costs, and 24/7 availability," said Florin Danescu, executive director of the Romanian Bank Association, quoted by Profit.ro.

Systems similar to RoPay already exist in other European countries, such as Sweden, Greece, Spain, Italy, and Portugal – the latter three being recently integrated among themselves for P2P transactions.

With RoPay, bank customers will be able to transfer money almost instantly via mobile phone, both via NFC and QR code, among others. For now, the system is available for person-to-person payments in proximity.

The RoPay system is currently available at three banks: BRD, Libra Internet Banking, and CEC Bank. Next year, BCR, ING, Banca Transilvania, and Raiffeisen Bank will join the system, leading to the participation of banks accounting for about a quarter of the market by assets. Among the large banks, UniCredit hasn't announced its plans.

BCR's vice president of retail, Dana Dima, estimates that the new system will facilitate the doubling of non-card payments each year, compared to a 40%-50% growth rate currently. 

The adoption rate will depend on how banks promote the service, argues Eleni Skoura, head of retail banking at ING Bank Romania, who cited Alias ​​Pay – the phone number payment system, which did not have the expected success.

At the moment, RoPay is only available for P2P payments - person to person, in proximity, through the internet banking application, between customers at the three participating banks. As banks enter the system, they will be able to offer the other payment facilities listed above that have already been developed, according to Transfond officials. 

After the adoption of instant payments in euros, the RoPay system will be able to be integrated for payments abroad.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Ekkasit Jokthong/Dreamstime.com)