Romanians withdraw 5bn euros from ATMs

Cash withdrawals and card-based transactions at retailers resumed growth in the second quarter of the year, with the cumulated value of such operations exceeding 25 billion RON (around 5.9 billion euros), according to data from the NBR (National Bank of Romania). Cash withdrawals continue to dominate card transactions, seeing an around 7.5% rise against January-March, to 21.5 billion RON (5.1 billion euros). Cash withdrawals from ATMs rose by around 10% against the second quarter of last year. Analysts put the rise in card-based transactions down to last year’s boom in the number of credit cards issued, rather than to consumers having more money available. “The rise both in retailer transactions and in ATM withdrawals is the result of the large number of cards being issued last year,” says financial analyst Dragos Cabat. “People simply started to use these cards, but it doesn’t mean they have more money to spend.” This explanation comes amid a prolonged severe contraction of the economy, with salary raises being much less generous than in previous years. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 6.2% in the first three months of 2009.