In 2021, Romanians made 107 million transactions through Revolut, and the total volume of transactions increased by 19.5% compared to 2020.
Gabriela Simion, Revolut Romania Branch Head (photo) catalogs as a record the number of transactions in 2021, stating that “one in five Romanian users used the Revolut application at least once a day to make a payment, instant transfer or purchase, and the active Revolut customer base grew by 43 % last year and 84% compared to the last month of pre-pandemic normalcy (February 2020). “
Last year, Revolut customers in Romania spent the most on shopping (20% of the total volume traded), to buy food and household goods from supermarkets (15%) and for entertainment (14.7%). The largest budget increases were recorded, compared to 2020, for the category of general expenses (+ 326%), for entertainment (+ 123%) and travel (+ 111%).
The Revolut report shows that in general, the purchases of Revolut customers in Romania have been increasing in 2021, regardless of the category of goods and services purchased, but most transactions were recorded for food and mobility services (transport). More than 30 million transactions were made in grocery stores and supermarkets, with a total transaction value of EUR 310 million, followed by transactions for transport services – 19.4 million transactions (+ 73% compared to 2020) and EUR 179 million. Mobility has been growing and reported in 2019, with Romanians making four times as many transactions in 2021 as the year before the pandemic, to pay for transportation services.
Last year, Romanian users spent more than EUR 126 million on travel, double that of 2020 and 80% more than in 2019, according to Revolut officials. Revolut customer spending on restaurant services (cafes, bars, restaurants) also approached EUR 180 million, an increase of 103% compared to 2020 and 150% compared to 2019.
For most of the year, online payments outperformed the number of transactions and volumes traded compared to physical payments, except for the summer period (June-September), when relaxation measures were announced. During the 12 months, 51% of the amounts traded through the Revolut platform by Romanian customers were subject to digital payments, while 49% were physical payments.
In terms of the physical payments / digital payments ratio, July 2021 was the record month, with 57.5% of the expenses made by Revolut customers registered in the points of sale of the merchants and only 42.5% of digital payments. On the other hand, in November, amid the resumption of health restrictions, but also as a result of the campaigns for the holiday season, digital commerce attracted 58.4% of the total amounts traded, while physical payments only 41.6%. In 2021, the total volume of digital payments was 86.5% higher than in 2020, while physical payments increased by 56% compared to the first year of the pandemic.
From the data processed by the Revolut super-application, it can be seen that digital payments were preferred for transactions with higher average values (29 EUR / transaction made digitally vs. 15 EUR physical transaction), a trend noticed in 2020 (29.6 EUR / transaction made digitally vs. 15 EUR / physical transaction).
However, the most spectacular increase was recorded by telephone payments, which increased almost 5 times in the number of transactions in 2021 compared to 2020, and 4 times in the total amount traded. The average value of a smartphone transaction in 2021 was around EUR 97.
With regard to ATM withdrawals, the amounts traded and the total number of transactions continued to increase in 2021 compared to 2020, although the ratio between the number of cash and non-cash transactions tends to favor electronic or digital trading methods. Withdrawals from ATMs accounted for 5% of total transactions during the year.
