ROMANIA

Export Atlas in PDF

Romania is an upper-middle income country of 19.8 million people with a GDP growth which is expected to decelerate markedly to 1.4% in 2024 as export growth remains subdued. A gradual recovery in external demand, easing of financial conditions and resilient private consumption and investment are set to accelerate growth above 2% in 2025 and in 2026. Inflation slowed slightly in 2023 due to a marked deceleration of energy and food prices, but is expected to remain above 5% in 2024.

Strong labour demand is set to further reduce unemployment. Romania’s general government deficit is forecast to reach 8% of GDP in 2024, much higher than in 2023. It is expected to stay broadly at that level in 2025 and 2026. 

Summary

BNP Paribas is one of the largest international banks in Romania, with a business centre in Bucharest. The bank has direct access to the local clearing system, and provides comprehensive services for both paper-based and electronic payments, as well as international cash management and trade finance.

Currency

  • Romanian new leu (RON).

Bank accounts

  • A company is generally considered resident in Romania if its place of effective management is located there.

Factoring

Romania is serviced from Poland.

Please consult the Polish pages.

BNP Paribas Cash Management Capabilities

Cash collections
Cheque collections
Direct debit collections
Domestic incoming transfers
Virtual IBAN
Virtual accounts
International incoming transfers
Card acquiring

Payments & collections

Companies primarily use electronic credit transfers to pay suppliers. Direct debits are also growing in importance, both for regular payments such as utility bills and for individually authorised one-off payments. Payment cards, especially debit cards, are popular for consumer transactions. The number of contactless payments and the use of electronic wallets have surged as a result of the pandemic: electronic payments increased by 53.15% in volume and 40.36% in value in 2020. In 2020, the Romanian Government set up the Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania to support the digital transformation of the country’s economy.

Electronic banking services are available from all large banks. There is no national electronic banking standard in Romania; most banks use MultiCash. Transaction and balance reporting, automated end-of-day sweeping, and some transaction initiation services are available on a domestic and cross-border basis.

Online and mobile banking services are offered by the country’s banks. Adoption of digital banking services is low; Romania was ranked last at an EU level by the European Commission in 2018 in its Digital Economy and Society Index.

Short term investments

Interest payable on credit balances

  • Interest-bearing current accounts are permitted for residents and non-residents.

Demand deposits

  • Demand deposits are available.

Time deposits

  • Time deposits are available in RON or major foreign currencies for terms ranging from one night to one year.

Certificates of deposit

  • Domestic banks and the BNR issue certificates of deposit in RON, EUR and USD for terms of one, three, six, nine and 12 months.

Treasury (government) bills

  • The Ministry of Finance issues treasury certificates with maturities of three, six and 12 months.

Commercial paper

Money market funds

  • Money market funds are not widely available in Romania.

Repurchase agreements

  • Repurchase agreements with one week maturities are available in Romania.

Banker's acceptances

  • Banker's acceptances are not used in Romania.

BNP Paribas Trade Finance Capabilities

Documentary credits
Documentary collections

International trade

  • As a member of the EU, Romania follows the EU customs code and applies all associated regulations and commercial policies.
  • Trade with other countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland is exempt from tariffs and other controls.
  • Romania operates seven free trade zones.