Fewer Romanians plan to save money in 2023, Revolut survey shows

About 13% of Romanians plan to save their money in cash in 2023, less than 18% at the European level, according to a Revolut and Dynata study. The figure confirms previous findings showing that Romanians are increasingly moving towards a cashless economy.

Germans prefer cash savings the most, with more than a quarter saying so in the survey. The lowest percentage was in the UK (11%). 27% of all respondents in the survey said they intend to put money aside in savings deposits or vaults. The Brits are the most interested in these products (36%), followed by Romanians (36%) and French (35%).

At the European level, women prefer cash savings more than men (19% compared to 17%), and the "money kept under the mattress" option is predictably influenced by age. The percentage increases from 15.6% among the young (18-24 years) to almost 20% for those over 45 years old.

In Romania, women prefer cash savings even more than men (16% to 10%). The averages, however, are lower than those recorded among European consumers for each gender. Contrary to the European trend, Romanians between 18 and 24 (18%) prefer to keep their savings in cash more than those over 55 (11%).

At a regional level, Romanians in the west of the country are more likely to keep their money in the bank, with only 8% indicating cash as one of the methods used to save and manage their funds in 2023. At the opposite pole, 14% of respondents from the northeast of the country and Muntenia prefer saving in cash.

In 2023, Europeans seem more concerned with protecting their assets and real estate, their health, or even their lives than investing in new financial instruments or increasing their level of indebtedness through loans and credits. 27% of respondents intend to save, and the British and Romanians are the most interested in putting money aside (36%), followed by the French (35%).

Representatives of both genders are equally interested in saving (27%), while the age group most concerned with saving, at the European level, is represented by the 18 to 24 segment (33%). In Romania, both men and women show a high interest in saving, with savings deposits being in first place in their options regarding financial instruments taken into account in 2023 for both men and women. Romanians in the southeast of the country are the most oriented towards savings (42%), followed by Bucharest-Ilfov (39%) and the southwest of the country, including Oltenia (38%).

Romanians are by far the most favorable (21%) to cryptocurrencies among all Europeans. They are followed at a distance by Poles and Italians (11%). The age group most interested in crypto is made out of those between 18 and 24.

The Revolut and Dynata study also shows that only 3% of Europeans are looking to obtain a mortgage this year. The lowest purchase intention is in France (0.6%) or Romania (1%), and the highest is in Lithuania or Spain (5.4%). Romania is the European country with the most homeowners (95%, in 2021, according to Eurostat), while Germany has the fewest (49.5%). The European average is 70%.