Despite being part of a cash-dominated society, Romanian consumers are shifting towards adopting digital payments, with efforts being made to implement more technologies that cater to changing behaviours. According to Statista, the value of the digital payments market in Romania will reach USD 38.31 billion in 2025. With an estimated annual growth rate between 2025 and 2029 of 24.05%, by 2029, the market is anticipated to hit USD 90.72 billion.
Although Romania’s population is not fully banked, bank account penetration has been on the rise, with data showing a 76% bank account penetration in 2024 and an estimate of 78% for 2025. As per Banca Naţională a României (BNR, the National Bank of Romania), in June 2024, there were 22.4 million active cards.
A recent market survey commissioned by the Romanian Banks Association and conducted by the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy (IRES) shows that the country’s adult financial inclusion rate rose to 71%, a 3% increase from the previous assessment carried out in 2022. Despite basic accounts being available free of charge, there are some common reasons for not owning one: 37% of respondents mentioned a low income, 20% declared they are paid in cash, 18% stated that they make all their payments in cash, and 7% indicated they do not find it useful. In terms of the type of cards preferred, 70% of the respondents who owned bank accounts stated that they use debit cards, and only 25% credit cards.
One significant recent development that highlights that efforts are being made to boost digitalisation and expand consumers’ access to faster, secure payments was the launch of RoPay. This is an instant mobile payment system developed by Transfond and positioned as an alternative to cash and card payments. Transfond was launched in 2000, with the goal of modernising and automatising the interbank payment system. The company owns and operates SENT (Sistemul Electronic de Transfer Național – the National System for Electronic Transfers), the automated clearing house (ACH) that serves as Romania’s financial and banking infrastructure. SENT processes both low-value retail payments in domestic currency (such as credit transfers, direct debit, and debit instruments like cheques) as well as euro-denominated credit transfers, both domestic and cross-border.
RoPay leverages technologies like QR code scanning, deep links, NFC, and mobile numbers as proxies for IBANs, and it is currently being used for proximity-based person-to-person (P2P) payments by enabling consumers to make instant payments between accounts at the same or different banks without the need to input bank details. RoPay has numerous other applications, and it can also be used for online payments. For instance, the integration of RoPay for online stores will give customers the option to make payments via QR codes, making the checkout process more seamless and convenient.
Transfond’s instant payments service Plăți instant is available to several banks operating in Romania, including Banca Transilvania, CEC Bank, Libra Internet Bank, Banca Comercială Română, Vista Bank, Patria Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, BRD Groupe Société Générale, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank, ING Bank România, Salt Bank, Banca Română de Credite și Investiții, TechVentures Bank, Smith & Smith, and Revolut Bank.
Neobanks are also playing an important role in encouraging the shift away from cash payments in Romania. In 2024 alone, Romanian users made one billion Revolut transactions, marking a 58% increase from 2023. To cater to the demand, in April 2024, Banca Transilvania, an incumbent bank, launched Salt Bank, the first Romanian neobank. Prior to the actual launch, Salt Bank announced a pre-enrolment programme, which attracted over 80,000 people in less than three weeks.
By comparison, in 2025, several incumbent banks closed their activity in the country – OTP Bank România, Alpha Bank România, and First Bank. All three financial institutions were acquired by other well-established, incumbent banks. OTP Bank România was taken over by Banca Transilvania, Alpha Bank was acquired by UniCredit Bank, and First Bank was purchased by Intesa Sanpaolo. These acquisitions reflect a trend of consolidation in Romania's banking sector.
Romania is slowly keeping pace with global payment and ecommerce trends. Daniel Nicolescu, CEO and co-founder of Symphopay, notes that some of the key developments in the Romanian market include the rise of omnichannel solutions, the use of AI-driven technologies, and a gradual move towards alternative payment methods (APMs). However, options like account-to-account (A2A) payments and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) still haven't become solid alternatives to traditional card payments.
The Romanian payments ecosystem is dominated by a mix of local and global players. Some of the major players include:
Global card networks: Visa, Mastercard.
Banks: Banca Transilvania, Banca Comercială Română (BCR), CEC Bank, BRD – Groupe Société Générale, Raiffeisen Bank, ING Bank, among others. As a member of SEPA, Romania’s banks and financial institutions can provide SEPA transfers. Some Romanian banks also offer ecommerce payment services – such as LibraPay offered by Libra Internet Bank, BT iPay by Banca Transilvania, ING WebPay by ING Bank, among others.
Payment processors: PayU GPO, Netopia Payments, euplatesc.ro, Plati.online, Stripe, Adyen, and others.
BNPL providers: PayPo, Oney, Klarna, Mokka, tbi bank, among others.
E-wallets: Apple Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, mobilPay Wallet, and others.
Despite the growing adoption of digital payments, cash is still king in Romania, and cash-on-delivery remains a popular payment method among consumers shopping online. As per data shared by the Romanian Association of Online Stores (ARMO), the preferred payment method for ecommerce orders in Romania is cash, with 60 to 65% of the orders being paid in cash-on-delivery.
According to Elena Gheorghe, Country Manager at PayU GPO, ‘there remains a significant gap between online payments and cash-on-delivery transactions, with only 35% of Romanians opting to pay online, fewer than during the COVID-19 period. However, certain verticals, such as travel and entertainment, boast significantly higher online payment adoption rates, exceeding 50%. Unfortunately, many local merchants either continue to promote cash-on-delivery or do not offer online payment options, which negatively impacts their business. For example, cash-on-delivery purchases have an 11% return rate, while online payments see a significantly lower return rate of 4-5%. Merchants promoting digital payments can immediately reduce returns and increase profitability. Therefore, increasing online payment adoption requires a collective effort from merchants as well’.
The situation might, however, change as a result of new regulatory initiatives. For instance, as of July 2024, a new law came into effect (Law 406/2023), which makes it mandatory for all merchants, including online platforms and marketplaces, to offer at least one electronic payment option to their clients. This initiative aims to deter the use of cash and promote financial inclusion.
Moreover, it was recently announced that Tap-to-Pay on iPhone is now available to Romanian merchants through Revolut Pro. Thus, brick-and-mortar businesses are now able to accept card and digital wallet payments without the need for additional hardware.
Romanian consumers make use of a wide range of payment methods for ecommerce purchases. As per Statista, in 2023, the preferred payment methods for Romanians shopping online included card payments, cash-on-delivery, bank transfers, and digital wallets.
For 2024, Elena Gheorghe, Country Manager at PayU GPO, explains that: ‘we have observed significant growth in digital wallets, with Google Pay and Apple Pay now accounting for 10% of all online transactions. Additionally, BNPL solutions saw a more than 100% increase last year, reflecting a clear consumer demand for flexible expense management. Furthermore, based on PayU GPO’s transaction data for 2024, the average shopping cart value for instalment payments is approximately three times higher than for full-payment transactions. This indicates that extended instalment payments with zero interest contribute to higher average order values and increased overall sales, with instalment payments representing up to 30% of total transactions on some merchant websites’.
Romania is currently one of the rising digital economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In 2020, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ecommerce market in the country saw a 30% increase compared to 2019. With a developing digital infrastructure, changes in customer behaviour, the rising rate of Internet adoption, a broadening set of retailers making the move towards online selling, and new players entering the market, Romania’s ecommerce market is poised to continue its ascent.
In 2024, the ecommerce market in Romania was estimated at EUR 11.5 billion, equivalent to 3.42% of the country's GDP. As to Romania’s position among other CEE markets, the country is currently occupying the third place in terms of ecommerce economic value, after Poland and the Czech Republic.
Ecommerce adoption for Romanian businesses reached new heights during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the growth in performance seen by big online retailers, recent data shows that ecommerce adoption among Romanian businesses is rather low. Statista indicates that, in 2024, only 13.9% of Romanian businesses reported earning at least 1% of their revenue from ecommerce sales. The figure is low when compared to the 17.7% reported in 2020. Moreover, the same source shows that 12.2% of businesses sold products or services directly to consumers via websites, while roughly 7.6% conducted B2B (business-to-business) and B2G (business-to-government) sales online. The figures showcase the growth potential of the ecommerce market in Romania, but also indicate that many Romanian businesses decided to abandon their efforts towards online selling following the pandemic.
The ecommerce market is dominated by a mix of local and international players, and the local ecommerce sector is made up mostly of small companies, which account for 98.3% of the total operating businesses, but only generate 41% of the revenue. By contrast, even though larger companies represent only 0,025% of the total players, they account for a third of the revenue. Mid-sized companies constitute the most dynamic and likely to prosper segment, growing rapidly and showing more openness to adopting new technologies.
Out of the thirty most visited ecommerce platforms in Romania in 2024, ten are local businesses (eMag, Altex, Dedeman, Farmacia Tei, PC Garage, Catena, Pieseauto.ro, FashionDays – owned by eMag, Carturesti, CEL.ro), five are French (Leroymerlin, Decathlon, Carrefour, Auchan, Bricodepot – currently owned by Kingfisher, an UK-based group), three Chinese (Temu, AliExpress, Trendyol – a Turkish company partly owned by Alibaba), three German (DM, Zalando, About You – in December 2024, Zalando acquired About You), two Swedish (Ikea, H&M), two Polish (epantofi, Sinsay), two Czech (Notino, Dr.Max – with a Romanian branch), one Danish (Jysk), one South Korean (Samsung), and one is from the US (Amazon).
The Romanian ecommerce market is dominated by local and European players. However, some international players like AliExpress, Temu, or Shein are also among the most visited online retail websites in the country. The main reasons why consumers choose to shop from international retailers are lower prices and access to products unavailable on Romanian ecommerce websites.
In 2024 alone, some estimates placed the total value of online purchases by Romanian consumers on Temu and Shein at EUR 600 million, with one in ten deliveries via courier services being made from these players.
According to a report published by Temu, between April and October 2024 alone, the number of average monthly recipients of Temu orders in Romania was 3.8 million. In response to its growing popularity, Temu has adjusted its strategy and, starting in January 2025, Romanian shoppers on the platform have access to faster deliveries, with certain products being shipped from local warehouses.
In 2025, the European Commission has announced a crackdown on Temu and Shein following the influx of goods entering the EU. According to reports, in 2024, 4.6 billion parcels, valued at under EUR 150 each, were imported in the EU, 91% of which came from China. The Commission recommended lifting the duty-free exemption for parcels below EUR 150, highlighting the negative impact that selling unsafe, low-cost products has on fair competition, the environment, and the climate. Similarly, in 2024, it was reported that the Romanian National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) opened an investigation into Temu and Shein regarding possible unfair commercial practices.
Apart from competition from Temu and Shein, in 2024, Romanian ecommerce businesses have also had to compete with companies like Trendyol – which made its market entry in January 2024 and has already invested in local warehouses and opened new offices in the country. Only one year later, the Turkish online retailer reported that it amassed 1.3 million active buyers and sold over 13 million products.
In Romania, Internet access has reached new adoption heights. As per a report published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), in 2024, the percentage of Romanians with home Internet access reached 88.6%, a 2.9% increase from 2023. Eurostat data places Internet access in Romania in 2024 at 94.57%.
According to INS, 72.9% of Romanians aged 18 to 74 shopped online in 2024, a 4.8% rise from 2023. The same source indicates a spike in the percentage of online shoppers in both urban and rural areas. Compared to 2023, in 2024, 77.1% of people from urban areas bought goods and services online, a 3.4% boost from the previous year. The percentage of people ordering goods or services online in rural areas has also increased by 5.9%, reaching 67.3%. However, in 2024, there was still a significant gap between urban and rural areas, with urban areas ahead by 9.8%.
In the last three months of 2024, data from INS indicates that the items bought online included clothing, footwear, and accessories (78.6%), food delivery and catering services (36.4%), cosmetics and personal care products (34.5%), cleaning and personal care products (22.2%), sports products (20.8%), electronics (15.8%), and pharmaceutical products and other dietary supplements (16.7%).
When commenting on the ecommerce segments that saw the biggest growth in 2024, Elena Gheorghe, Country Manager at PayU GPO, mentioned that: ‘Romanians are definitely more and more aware of the advantages of online shopping, particularly in sectors that offer convenience and time savings, such as groceries, healthcare, and food delivery. However, the most significant growth is driven by the services sector, where consumers are increasingly opting for online payments of airline tickets, ride-hailing services, or event booking’.
Romanian shoppers have a heightened price sensitivity that can be linked to the economic context, particularly the rise of inflation. According to INS, Romania ended 2024 with an annual price increase due to inflation of 5.4%, with non-food goods and services being the most affected. In January 2025, the INS reported an inflation rate of 5%, double the Euro area annual inflation rate (2.5% for January 2025). Despite the pressure of rising prices, MerchantPro anticipates that the average annual budget for online shoppers will grow from EUR 857 to EUR 931 in 2025.
Romanian shoppers can return goods purchased online within 14 days, regardless of the reason, and sellers must refund them within 14 days. As per the European E-Commerce Report 2024, local businesses promote sustainability by reselling returned and refurbished products at lower prices, whereas some of the third-country platforms present in the Romanian market refund customers directly, without asking for the items back.
There are several regulatory changes anticipated to impact Romanian ecommerce businesses in 2025.
E-invoicing – starting with January 2025, the implementation of electronic invoices for B2C (business-to-customer) transactions via the e-invoicing platform (e-Factura) overseen by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) has become mandatory. The change is expected to reduce tax evasion and streamline internal processes for companies. However, the switch to e-invoicing will most likely lead to additional implementation costs.
GPSR – EU's General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) came into effect in December 2024. This new regulation aims to mark the start of a new era of protection for European consumers. Manufacturers must ensure that their products meet the needed safety requirements, while importers have to ensure that all products outside of the EU that enter the market comply with GPSR. Sellers and distributors must monitor that the products they commercialise meet the GPSR requirements. The impact of the GPSR on ecommerce lies with the sellers’ obligation to provide clear safety information on product listings, as well as proper documentation.
Despite being part of the European Union since 2007 and meeting the technical requirements, Romania, alongside Bulgaria, only became full members of the Schengen area on 1 January 2025. The slow process of acceptance was due to opposition from other EU member states, Austria in particular, which expressed concerns over the two states not implementing sufficient measures to stop irregular migrants from entering the area.
With Romania now a full Schengen area member, the country's ecommerce market will most probably undergo significant changes. It is anticipated that new ecommerce players interested in expanding to other European markets will target Romania as a way to broaden their reach, leading to a more competitive market and a wider assortment of products available for Romanian consumers. Similarly, Romanian players will have an easier path to tapping new markets. Moreover, with custom checks at borders removed, Romanians will enjoy faster deliveries.
Romania's payments and ecommerce landscape is anticipated to see further growth in 2025. In terms of the ecommerce sector, PayU anticipates an 11.5% growth, with the services segment expected to play a central role in this expansion. As for the payments sector, Elena Gheorghe, Country Manager at PayU GPO, states that: ‘regarding online payments, current trends suggest continued growth in digital wallets, BNPL solutions, and A2A, alongside an increasing preference for seamless, one-click payments. The Romanian market is aligning more closely with global payment trends, and merchants who adapt to these innovations will gain a significant competitive advantage’.
When it comes to Romanian consumers’ reliance on cash, it is to be seen what impact the new regulations and payment technologies will have in encouraging a more significant shift towards the use of digital payments.
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