Romanian Visa card transactions increase by 60 percent in 2004

March 22, 2005 Total Romanian Visa card transactions rose by 60% in 2004 in comparison to 2003. They reached a value of US$2.8 billion. This was due to a 30% increase in the number of cards issued, as well as greater spending by Romanians. The results are based on both ATM transactions and purchases in various stores.

According to Visa, purchases with Visa cards almost doubled to $164.4 million. The number of people in Romania who pay with Visa cards rose by 130%, reaching 3.3 million customers. The most popular cards were Visa Gold, with nearly 800,000 cards issued in 2004, and Visa Electron, with more than 600,000 cards issued.

Visa cards are an increasingly popular way of consumer spending in Romania and, by the end of 2004, they were accepted at 15,727 locations across the country, an increase of 17.7% in comparison to 2003.