Visa hopes for EUR 1 billion tax payments by card in Romania in four years

The total value of taxes Romanians paid by card almost doubled in 2010, to some EUR 17.4 million (RON 73.2 million), according to the Romanian banks that are Visa Europe members, shows a GfK survey conducted for Visa Europe. In 2011, the online card payments segment was the most dynamic, as the value of transactions went up more than seven-fold. But Visa Europe aims for card payments of local taxes of some EUR 1 billion in the next four years, according to Catalin Cretu, general manager Visa Romania.

Two thirds of Romanians find payment of taxes by card an attractive option, reads the study. Half of the people that used banking services in urban areas were aware of the possibility of paying taxes by card at the POS terminals installed in public institutions. Around 60 percent of them are from Bucharest, while more than 60 percent have incomes of over EUR 575 (RON 2,500). Also, some 40 percent of the study’s respondents are aware that they can pay taxes online by card using the platform ghiseul.ro or other electronic applications provided by local authorities. However, one in three Romanians thinks that paying taxes is a difficult process mainly due to the bureaucracy and the long time required to make payments. “Romanians living abroad face even more problems when it comes of paying taxes. Two thirds of them think that paying local taxes is difficult and would make online card payments if they could. Romanians are not used to paying commission when making transactions by card and will not easily accept a change to this way,” Cretu added. The percentage of respondents that showed their intention of paying taxes using a POS dropped from 61 percent to 26 percent when the commission charge was mentioned, shows the survey. Moreover, 56 percent of the respondents said that they would not pay taxes using a POS or online by card if there was a commission to be paid. Currently, several county capitals in Romania, such as Iasi, and Piatra Neamt don’t accept card payments of local taxes. “The online payment of local taxes is a priority and has to be applied as soon as possible,’ said Razvan Mustea, Romanian Minister of Communications. “Any online payment means more time. Another gain is that it eliminates corruption,” he added. According to the Minister, over 9,000 payments were made so far through ghiseul.ro, with a total value of some EUR 392,000 (RON 1.7 million). The survey was conducted between January to February 2012 on 1,700 respondents. Visa Europe was founded in 2004. There are over 445 million Visa debit, credit and business credits in Europe, and Visa cards were used for payments and cash withdrawals evaluated at EUR 1,700 billion at the end of September 2011. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sxc.hu)