Survey: Over half of the Romanians will pay cash during the Winter Holidays

  Most holidays payments, over 56% will be cash, show the results of a survey CEC Bank, while 26% of the interviewees stated they will use a debit card and 11% a credit card. Similarly, payments by watch or phone will be in much lower percentages.    ‘The malls remain the preferred destination for holiday purchases (45% of the interviewees) and local producers are second (almost 22% of the interviewees), surpassing online purchases (17.43%), consider the authors of the survey.   As regards the Christmas tree, 54% of the interviewees choose an artificial tree and 20.75% buy a natural one. On the other hand, over 17% say they do not decorate a Christmas tree and a reduced percentage, under 8% will buy a potted fir tree.   "The budget for the tree will be relieved by 31% of respondents, who have already bought artificial trees in previous years. Another 23% of respondents will allocate between 60 and 150 lei for the purchase of a tree, 15.5% will spend between 30 and 60 lei, and more than 150 lei will be spent on a tree by 14% of those surveyed," the research adds.   According to the same study, the biggest impact on Christmas purchases had, for almost 50% of the Romanians, the increase of food prices.   At the same time, over 40% of the Romanians save money in time for the holidays purchases, and for most presents expenses do not surpass 500 lei, shows the survey made by CEC Bank, in partnership with the bank comparator FinZoom.   To the question which was the greatest impact on the Christmas expenses, half of the interviewees mentioned the increase of food prices, and almost 43% spoke about the increase in utilities prices (gas, maintenance, electricity).     In terms of the source of money for this period, 41% say they save money in advance and 40% spend from the current month's salary. A smaller number of respondents spend from their credit card/overdraft (7% of respondents), from bonuses/bonuses (7%) and about 5% borrow from relatives or friends.   The survey was conducted online by the financial comparator FinZoom, at the request of CEC Bank, on a sample of around 1,200 respondents from across the country, representative of internet users. Thus, 53% of the respondents are employed, 75% live in the city and more than 27% have higher education.   CEC Bank is the financial institution with the longest tradition in Romania. Founded in 1864, CEC Bank currently has the most extensive national network, with more than 1,000 branches and territorial units and assets of 69.08 billion lei at the end of the first half of 2023.   CEC Bank is a leading universal bank on the Romanian market and offers a full range of products and services to individuals, SMEs and large corporations through multiple distribution channels: banking units, ATM and POS networks, internet banking (CEC online), mobile banking (CEC app) and the CEC_IN virtual store - where banking products and services can be accessed 100% online.