Card operations issued in Moldova continued to grow strongly in second quarter

Chisinau, 14 August /MOLDPRES/- The value of card transactions issued in the Republic of Moldova, performed in the country and abroad, reached 17 billion lei in the second quarter of this year, after an increase of 9.2 percent compared to the first quarter. Revenues on cards issued in the country have increased more than five times in the last ten years, according to the data of the National Bank of Moldova.

Most operations, amounting to 15.25 billion lei, were carried out in the second quarter of 2019 on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The transactions abroad made by the Moldovan card holders amounted to 1.6 billion lei, of which over 89 percent of the total operations represented the cashless payments.

More than half of the number of card transactions issued in the Republic of Moldova performed in the country represented by cashless payments. The number of non-cash payments with electronic payment instruments amounted to 8.9 million, in the second quarter, out of a total of 16.2 million.

However, the BNM data show that, despite the large number of transactions, the value of card payments is much lower than cash withdrawals, although it is constantly increasing. The market for cashless transactions carried out in the country with cards issued in the Republic of Moldova increased by 100 million lei in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year and reached a record level of 2.46 billion lei. Payments with electronic payment instruments to commercial networks, gas stations and other service delivery units accounted for 16.1% of the total value of the operations.

Foreigners or Moldovans who have cards issued abroad spent in the Republic of Moldova in the second quarter about 2.1 billion lei, compared with 1.7 billion in January-March.

The revenues on the cards issued in the country of the Moldovans will amount, in 2019, to 67 billion lei and, for the first time, will exceed the cash receipts. Ten years ago, citizens' receipts on bank cards accounted for 25 percent of cash revenues, and now they account for half of the total revenues received by Moldovans, especially salaries, according to IDIS Viitorul economist Veaceslav Ionita.

According to the BNM, the revenues on the cards issued in the country of the Moldovans amounted to 32.6 billion lei, in the first half of 2019.

The highest share of social payments (social allowances, pensions, allowances), respectively 80 percent, are made on the card, the economist notes. According to him, in the coming years, card payments in commercial units and service providers will reach 25 percent of the total card operations, and encouraging card payments will reduce the dark economy and tax evasion.