PAYMENT SYSTEMS IN ROMANIAN E-COMMERCE: TECHNOLOGY, REGULATION AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Ciumara Tudor
Additional contact information
Ciumara Tudor: VICTOR SLAVESCU CENTRE FOR FINANCIAL AND MONETARY RESEARCH

Annals - Economy Series, 2025, vol. 6, 601-607

Abstract: In this paper we provide a theory-informed synthesis of the evolution and adoption of payment systems in Romanian e-commerce and their economic implications at the level of market functioning. Building on transaction cost economics, financial intermediation, diffusion of innovation and network effects, the study proposes a layered analytical framework that links supply-side conditions—payment infrastructure and acceptance capabilities, regulatory constraints, competitive dynamics among providers, interoperability, and pricing structures—with demand-side drivers such as income, financial and digital literacy, trust and risk perceptions, and preferences for speed and convenience. A third, contextual layer captures the role of internet penetration, logistics and returns reliability, urbanisation, demographic structure, and the persistence of cash-oriented payment norms. The research design follows a structured narrative review of regulatory documents, official statistics and peer-reviewed or methodologically transparent analytical reports. Emphasis is placed on recent evidence relevant to Romania and comparable European settings. In the analysis we map these determinants to key operational outcomes that jointly characterise payment performance and user experience, including approval rates, time to access funds, reconciliation burden, and exposure to fraud and chargebacks, as well as observed patterns of checkout completion. What we argue in this paper is that adoption trajectories and performance differences can be interpreted as the joint result of frictions and informational constraints along the purchase journey, mediated by institutional and infrastructural conditions. Therefore, the main contribution lies in consolidating dispersed evidence into a coherent framework that is suitable for subsequent empirical testing and comparative work across markets.

Keywords: e-commerce payments; interoperability; consumer trust; conversion; fraud and chargebacks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.utgjiu.ro/revista/ec/pdf/2025-06/60_Ciumara.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cbu:jrnlec:y:2025:v:6:p:601-607

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Annals - Economy Series from Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Ecobici Nicolae ().