Over $170m paid with plastic

The foreign tourists last year spent more than $171 million through Visa cards in Romania, some $68 million of which accounted for transactions in shops, hotels, restaurants and gas stations, 34% more than in 2002, Visa International data show. Transactions at merchants totalled 1.2 million operations, which accounts for 40% of the total. The average such transaction was worth $146.4. The five million foreign visitors in 2003 that chose to pay with plastic (Visa cards) brought over $171.8 million in the Romanian economy, 42% more than in the previous year. ZF