In recent years, the citizens of BiH are increasingly using card operations services, and the number of cards exceeded 2 million as well, but the cash withdrawals are still ahead of paying for goods and services, according to data of the Central Bank (CB) of BiH.
According to these data, 26 commercial banks in BiH provided card operations services at the end of last year, mostly global brands like MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Diners, while only two banks offer the only domestic card – Bamcard.
Report of CB BiH showed that the total number of active cards in the past year totaled to 2,013,219, in contrast to 2014, when BiH citizens had 1,932,354 cards.
“The total value of transactions realized through cards in the country and abroad in the last year amounted to 7,663,585,465 BAM, which is, in comparison to 2014, the increase in value of 488,441,196 BAM. When it comes to the total value of the transaction, from the ATMs was withdrawn, at home and abroad, cash in the amount of 5,707,287,968 BAM or 74 % of the value, while through the POS devices was realized 1,956,297,497 BAM, or 26 % of the value,” according to the report of CB BiH.
According to them, the average value of a transaction last year amounted to 109 BAM and it is lower by 13 BAM in comparison to 2014.
“Significant decline was recorded after 2 years of growth in the value of the average transaction,” as stated from the CB BiH. As they emphasized, the average annual turnover per card amounted to 3,807 BAM in 2015, unlike in 2014, when it was lower, and it amounted to 3,713 BAM. Thus, the increase in the amount of 93 BAM was recorded.
When it comes to the increase in the number of cards in BiH, Predrag Dudukovic, a member of the Association of Economists RS – SWOT, said that the card is now issued as soon as you open the account in the bank, so it is considered as one of the reasons for the increase.
“When it comes to payments, there is a growing trend and more and more people are using the cards for payment,” said Dudukovic. Regarding the fact that only two banks in BiH issued a domestic card, Dodukovic said that people probably feel that other cards are more secure, more stable, they opt for them easier and take something that is already checked.
(Source: akta.ba)
