CARDS MARKET – A RESISTANT MARKET TO CRISIS

Abstract

At the same time with the development of market and consumer behavior of Romanians, the growth rate of cards market accelerated. Of course, infrastructure and acceptance network were very important, they are the factors that allowed the widespread use of cards. Currently, any natural person or legal entity is engaged in commercial relationships involving financial transactions, the electronic payments having an important role, representing virtually future transactions, both nationally and across borders. The financial institutions have made a more rapid segmentation of the portfolio of cards and began to focus increasingly on services and benefits situated behind the payment instruments. Meanwhile, cardholders were becoming more educated and sophisticated, knowing what to ask of cards. More, many financial institutions have adapted so that network to accept chip cards. On the Romanian market, the chip cards will increase which are much more effective in terms of security transactions, as well as for co-branded cards, that offers the possibility of the loyalty of the customers. They will try to get as many benefits from different types of cards, but at the same time, they will focus on niche products, business cards, cards for shopping or for payment of public services. The scientific paper aims to capture aspects that emphasize the fact that the permanent market monitoring and the continuous adaptation of it will become necessary for the next period. The current client is more demanding, more educated and less tolerant in the relation to the suppliers of any kind and especially with those of financial services. The tendency to use co-branded cards for everyday payments will increase as merchants and issuing banks will attach more and more benefits on these cards, which will ultimately increase trading volumes on the card to merchants. The bank clients benefited of the cutting - edge technologies, of dual cards functionality - debit and credit.

Keywords

• cards market, crisis, markets segmentation, personalized card, co-branded card