Mastercard announced the results of the first ever MasterIndex BiH research, which is a study of the financial needs and habits of active card users in our country.
The study, which was conducted in April 2017 on a representative sample of citizens of BiH, showed that payment cards are already a permanent part of commercial activities, and 88 % of all respondents stated that they are using their cards every week, while 32 % of them are using them every day.
When it comes to a type of cards used, MasterIndex BiH reveals that most commonly used are debit cards, since 46 % of respondents said that they possess only them, while 13 % of respondents use only credit cards and 5 % use only prepaid cards. Moreover, 35 % of respondents possess both debit and credit cards, while 1 % of respondents own all three types of cards.
Debit cards are mostly used for paying groceries (45 %) and gasoline (37 %), as well as in banks and ATM machines (47 %). Credit cards are mostly used for larger purchases: furniture and appliances (28 %), clothing (24 %) and gasoline (24 %).
Amir Trokic, the Account Manager for the market of BiH at Mastercard, stated: “Our MasterIndex survey confirmed that card users appreciate the simplicity, convenience, security, and speed of payment that cards offer. The fact that 79 % of users use cards rather than cash for all the payments over 25 BAM, which is a choice of a total of 17 % of respondents, is a positive indicator of financial education of our users in BiH.”
MasterIndex BiH also researched the reasons why card users are choosing cards – 25 % of all respondents stated additional features such as delayed payment or insurance policies as the main reason for deciding on the card. Other reasons are low-interest rates (21 %), the reputation of the bank that is issuing cards (20 %) and the availability of ATM machines (14 %).
Finally, the survey of MasterIndex BiH showed where citizens would like to pay with their cards more, but there are not enough POS terminals at the moment- at the top of the list are all state and municipal institutions with 26 %. The respondents also mentioned telecoms (20 %), public transportation (19 %), more cafes and restaurants (13 %) and open markets (12 %). Amir Trokic also noted: “These results are showing that card users wish to use the electronic payment at several other locations, which is a signal for us to continue working with our partners in sectors of finances, businesses, telecom, and government, in order to work on expanding and acceptance of the card network.”
(Source: Radiosarajevo.ba)
