Contactless transactions in Romania go up 50 times in one year

The value of contactless card payments increased 50 times last year, said Catalin Cretu, Visa Europe regional director for Romania, Croatia, Malta, and Slovenia. Over two-thirds of the Visa card payments are below RON 100. This shows the habit of paying by card daily, even for smaller amounts, Cretu added. “Contactless payments represent the next level for the electronic payments in Romania because they allow faster small value payments,” he said. The total spending on the Visa cards issued in Romania increased by 13% in 2014 reaching about EUR 24 billion. The value of payments made by card directly to retailers rose by 20% year-on-year, twice faster than cash withdrawals from Visa cards. editor@romania-insider.com