Romanians spent 24.9 billion RON (5.8 billion euros) on cards inthe fourth quarter of 2009, 1% more than in the fourth quarter of2008, according to data from the NBR.
Card spending also rose by 2% against the third quarter of2009.
The overall spending on cards issued on the Romanian marketincreased to 95.9 billion RON (22.6 billion euros) up by almost 9%against the previous year. In euros, however, the volume fell by6%, due to the exchange rate depreciation. Therefore, volumes oftransactions on cards issued in Romania continued to see a rise,although the economy contracted by as much as 7.2%. Over the courseof the year, both bankers and representatives of payment operatorsnoted that this market segment was able to hold out despite thegeneral decline of the economy. ATM withdrawals continued toaccount for the bulk of transactions - 84.8 billion RON, i.e. 88%of overall operations, slightly down from 89% in the previous year.Card payments at retailers totalled 11 billion RON, up 17% againstthe previous year. The rise in volumes occurred even in the contextwhere fewer debit and credit cards were in circulation in December2009 than in the corresponding month of 2008.
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