Supporting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Implementing Cashless Payments
Automatically translated summary. The full text is available in Romanian.
Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” assessed the current state and development potential of cashless payments in the Republic of Moldova, drawing on statistical data and interviews with commercial banks and payment systems. The study also reviews other countries' practices and proposes economic policy measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises adopt cashless payments.
Card infrastructure is growing strongly but remains well behind the euro area. Moldova had 0.9 cards per inhabitant at the end of 2021 (42% more than in 2017), against 1.8 in the euro area in 2020. POS terminals reached 10,065 per million inhabitants on 30 September 2021 (+65% since 2017), one third of the euro area's 35,579.
Usage lags far more. A Moldovan makes 39 cashless card payments a year, against 140 in the euro area, and for each leu withdrawn only MDL 0.48 is paid by card, compared with €81 per €1 in the euro area. Causes include a preference for cash, distrust of financial institutions, fear of fraud, weak financial literacy, informal activity and merchants' wish to avoid fees. In June 2022, merchant fees ranged from 1.5% to 3%, and banks may lower them to 1-1.2% for high volumes.
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