The percentage of Romanians who have a bank account is the lowest in the region, according to the World Bank. Most refuse because “they don’t want to be watched.” Others do not see the usefulness of a bank account, have too low an income or cite a lack of access to ATMs, according to a survey by the Association of Romanian Banks.

Bucharest significantly outperforms all other counties in terms of access to banking services, as well as the cost of bank deposits.

According to a World Bank document seen by HotNews.ro, 18 of Romania’s 42 counties are lagging behind, and the difference in living standards between the city and the countryside is striking. Romania registers the second largest urban-rural income gap. in the EU.

Poverty is 20 percent higher in rural areas than in urban areas, and Romania’s transformation has been a story of “two Romanians” – one urban, dynamic and integrated with the EU and the other rural, poor and isolated.

In Bucharest, there are 49 bank branches per 100,000 adults, double the rate of Moldova, South Muntenia or the South West region.

And although half of Romanians live in villages, there are only 14% of the network of bank branches. In rural areas, branch network penetration is only 8 per 100,000 adults, with the lowest in Konstanz and Galaţi counties (southeast). The low density of the network of branches correlates with the lack of banking services, except for the basic ones

Financial behavior in Romania and in the countries of the region, with the exception of the Czech Republic, is largely determined by the female population, which makes up more than half of the population over the age of 15, according to a report sent on Thursday by Alpha Bank Chief Economist Ella Callai. “In Romania, 81% of the female population aged 15-74 use the Internet, but of this population, only 18% use online banking and 15% use digital government services, which is far below the level of other countries”

According to the same report, the share of female population that has an account in a financial institution is 66%, which is the lowest indicator in the region. The gap is also wide compared to Bulgaria, which has the second lowest value at 84%, and even more compared to Poland and the Czech Republic, where more than 90% of the female population has an account with a financial institution.

In Romania, says Alpha Bank’s chief economist, less than half of savers (37%) choose a financial institution.

Some people don’t want to be tied down because they lack certain financial skills, even if they don’t admit it publicly. And to stay out of the banking system, they end up relying on alternative financial services (moneylenders), which can be expensive.

The use of financial institutions to transfer salaries, pensions and social benefits in Romania is the lowest in the region.

68% of salaries to state employees are transferred through financial institutions, according to Alfa Bank’s research.

If we assume that this share is maintained regardless of the gender of the beneficiaries, this means that 3% of women do not receive a salary through a financial institution (9% of women over 15 work in the public sector). However, thanks to this indicator, the public sector promotes financial inclusion more than the private sector, where 59% of wages are transferred through a financial institution (Figure 6), which means that about 13% of the female population does not receive a salary through a financial institution (31% of the female population older than 15 years working in the private sector), the authors of the document summarize.

Sources:

Analysis of Alfa Bank

ARB survey

World Bank data