TIRANA, June 7 – The rapid growth of the internet market and use of smartphones has almost trebled Albania’s emerging online banking in the past four years, according to a report by the country’s central bank.
Home banking transactions grew by a sharp 72 percent to about 283 billion lek (€2 billion) in 2015 when 13 out of 16 commercial banks operating in the country offered the service first launched a decade ago.
“The rising trend of home banking use is closely related to the existence of infrastructure and more internet access opportunities even through smartphones. The banks’ policies in promoting these alternative paying methods is also estimated to have had a positive impact,” says the country’s central bank.
Some 4.5 percent of total bank accounts were accessible via internet in 2015 compared to only about 1 percent in 2008.
The Albanian economy continues remaining largely cash-based despite the number of debit and credit cards rising, a situation unveiling the high informality of the Albanian economy estimated at 30 percent of the GDP.
The latest 2015 annual report by the Bank of Albania shows cash withdrawals dominate card transactions with around 86 percent, a situation which has improved compared to few years ago when the rate was at 96 percent.
The central bank says number of debit and credit cards rose to about 907,000 in 2015, up from only 34,000 a decade ago.
