Online purchases boom in Romania

January 23, 2005

In 2004, the amount of online purchases and transactions in and from Romania through the VISA card system grew substantially, indicating Romanians are increasingly confident in online shopping.

Based on statistics published by VISA International, the total amount of electronic sales in Romania for 2004 exceeded US$5.7 million. VISA Card holders in Romania also made more than 41,000 transactions throughout the year via the Internet.

The most significant growth of the year was in December, when most purchases are made on account of the Christmas season. 28% of all online sales in 2004 occurred in December.

Cătălin Creţu, from VISA Romania, claims that, "It is a tradition to offer gifts to friends and family in the holiday season. We are pleased that Romanians are deciding to honour this tradition with the aid of a modern and innovative means of payment." He also stated that Romanians now have access to over 30,000 sellers throughout the world who are part of the Verified by Visa program, which guarantees the reliability of purchases through its network. The Verified by Visa program is used by more than 15 million people worldwide.