According to the expert, the bank card market in the Republic of Moldova in 2022 will reach 144 billion lei. Up by 33.7 billion lei compared to 2021. At the same time, he stated that this market is divided into three segments:
1) cards issued in the Republic of Moldova, which is the largest segment. It owns almost 80% of the entire market, with around 112.8 billion lei;
2) foreign cards used in the Republic of Moldova, the segment that grew the most in 2022. It holds 13% of the entire market, with 19.2 billion lei.
3) cards issued in the Republic of Moldova used abroad. In 2022, Moldovans paid 12.1 billion lei by card abroad, 40% more than in 2021.
About the cards issued in the Republic of Moldova and used on the spot, the economist said that the volume of turnover increased from 91 billion lei in 2021 to 113.7 billion lei in 2022. Thus, it can be seen that the attitude of Moldovans is changing against cards. These, as a means of payment, are becoming more and more active in the lives of Moldovans. In 2010, 97% of all money that Moldovans received on their card was immediately withdrawn at the ATM. Currently, 30% of card revenue is online payments.
The economic analyst also stated that 60% of last year’s increase in the bank card market is due to the increase in card payments. Moldovans increasingly use bank cards as a means of payment and no longer withdraw cash from ATMs. In 2022, cash withdrawals increased by 9.8 billion lei, and card payments – by 15 billion lei.
According to the expert, online trade in the Republic of Moldova is estimated at 35 billion lei: online payment – 19.7 billion lei (more than half is the payment of invoices); payment by card upon delivery – 5.4 billion lei; and paying in cash, when ordering online – 10 billion lei.
He also mentioned that of all the money that Moldovans have from salaries, agriculture, pensions, other types of social benefits, transfers from abroad and other forms of informal income, in 2022 the estimated total income reached 184 billion lei. Of which: 117.5 billion lei came on cards, and 66 billion lei – in cash.
