Netopia Payments, the most used electronic payment processor in Romania, recorded a 50% increase in the number of online card transactions in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period in 2020, while their total value increased with approx. 55%. During the reference period, the company processed an average of 1.4 million digital transactions per month.
According to company representatives, NETOPIA Payments enrolled over 3,000 new partner merchants in the first nine months of 2021. The average value of card transactions was 240 lei, up 15% compared to the same period last year.
In the top of the categories of products and services for which Romanians most often made electronic card payments in January-September were: utilities, food retail, IT&C, insurance and furniture. According to NETOPIA Payments, the busiest month in terms of the volume of transactions processed was July.
"We observe from year to year an increase in the number of online card transactions, which shows that more and more Romanians understand the speed and simplicity of the process and adopt this habit for daily payments, whether they pay for shopping or utilities. Also, in the case of online orders, we see a slight advance in the percentage of online payments versus cash payments, which is why by the end of the year we estimate that the 50% increase in the number of digital transactions will be maintained, "said Antonio Eram, CEO and Founder of NETOPIA Payments.
68% of online payments are made from a smartphone
According to the company, 68% of all transactions processed in the first nine months of the year were made from mobile devices, while only 32% of end customers chose the desktop. Most of the online payments were made by men, 56% of the total.
Regarding the top of the regions where the most electronic transactions were registered in this period, on the first place is Bucharest with a share of 36%, followed by the counties of Cluj with 10.5%, Timiș with 8.5% , Brașov with 6% and Iași with 4%.