Visa and Raiffeisen Bank have launched for the first time in Central and Eastern Europe the Visa Signature card (debit and credit), expanding exclusive benefits for super-premium cardholders in the Romanian market. This initiative reinforces both companies’ commitment to providing innovative financial products and services, offering clients significant advantages and an enhanced experience with Visa Premium cards. Made from 99% recycled plastic, the new card has been added to the bank’s product portfolio and is accessible to a significant segment of premium clients. Visa Signature stands out with a flexible structure and multiple benefits designed to offer a superior level of comfort and extended access to a range of exclusive services. These include personalized concierge services, access to the Visa Luxury Hotel Collection, special offers through the Visa Merchant Offers Centre, and 24/7 Global Customer Assistance Services (GCAS). “Visa Signature represents an important step in expanding our relationship with premium segment clients, providing them access to a wide range of exclusive benefits. The new Visa Signature card comes with a series of advantages specifically designed to meet their mobility and flexibility needs, while also allowing secure payments, globally accepted, enhanced with premium benefits and a more seamless digital integration. We are thrilled to partner with Raiffeisen Bank to bring this regional premiere to Romania. This continues the strategic partnership extended this year through the issuance of all the bank’s cards under the Visa brand, once again confirming once again that together we can constantly innovate and take the digital payments in Romania to the next level,” stated Elena Ungureanu, Visa Country Manager for Romania. “Visa has been a trusted partner of Raiffeisen Bank since our early presence in the Romanian market, and with the exclusive partnership announced this year, we have entered a new phase of collaboration. The launch of Visa Signature reinforces our commitment to delivering solutions that add value to both our premium product portfolio and the customer experience”, said Vladimir Kalinov, Vice President of Retail at Raiffeisen Bank Romania. The new Visa Signature card complements the Visa Premium universe, joining the Infinite, Platinum, and Gold cards. Designed to meet the high standards of affluent clients seeking personalized services and exclusive experiences, Visa Signature expands the range of lifestyle benefits for cardholders, offering enhanced convenience in everyday life, such as full travel insurance, extended access to national and international airport lounges, and global emergency assistance services. The local benefits of premium cards particularly target transportation, roadside and home assistance services: discounts on BlackCab rides, safe transportation for children, private drivers for personal car transport and airport transfers. Additionally, Visa Premium cardholders enjoy discounts at restaurants, dental clinics, beauty salons, and fitness centers. They also have free access to airport lounges in Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara, and Vienna, and discounts on mobility packages, including replacement car and towing services in case of accidents or technical malfunctions. International privileges within the Visa Premium universe include global assistance, preferential access to international airport lounges, and significant discounts on car rentals and hotel bookings. The Visa Luxury Hotel Collection provides access to over 900 locations, ranging from boutique hotels to major luxury hotel chains, with best-guaranteed booking rates, automatic room upgrades based on availability, VIP Guest status, and other benefits. The platform is available in 10 languages and offers a dedicated concierge service. Furthermore, cardholders have access to Air Refund, a service that simplifies and speeds up the claiming compensation for delayed or canceled flights, offering up to 600 euros depending on the flight distance and delay duration, with no commission charged for unresolved cases.
Around 32% of Romanians plan to spend their upcoming holidays abroad, with Greece, Italy, and Spain topping the list of preferred destinations, according to the Visa CEE Travel and Payment Intentions Study 2025. Of those going abroad for the summer, nearly 40% say they are “experience seekers,” prioritizing discoveries and stepping out of their comfort […]
Călin Georgescu, the far-right, Russia-friendly politician who surprisingly emerged as the first-round winner of last year’s presidential elections, will remain under judicial supervision after the District 1 Court in Bucharest rejected his appeal against the prosecutors’ decision to extend the preventive measure,
The mayor of Timișoara, Dominic Fritz, will be the new leader of the Save Romania Union party, or USR, after he received 67.2% of the votes in an internal race. The vote for the new party president was conducted online and started Wednesday at 10 AM and ended Friday at noon. A total of 10,914 […]
The Sports Barometer in Romania, a study conducted by IRES and presented on Thursday, June 12, during the Sports Festival, reveals that 32% of Romanians do not engage in any type of physical activity, and that as age increases motivation drastically decreases. According to the study, 28% of Romanians are super-active and do a form […]
The Romanian-American University has officially launched the country’s first Department of Latin American Studies (DSLA), marking a significant step in its internationalization efforts. The inauguration brought together official representatives from eight Latin American countries - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay - underlining the strong diplomatic support for deepening educational and cultural […]
Romanian president Nicușor Dan laid wreaths on Friday, June 13, at the Monument dedicated to the memory of the victims of the June 13–15, 1990 Mineriad and at the “Kilometer Zero of Democracy” Monument. The violent events of June 1990 remain in post-communist memory as the “June 13–15, 1990 Mineriad” and refer to the repression, […]
