Croatia’s accession to the EU will stabilise and help investment in the country’s economy. It will create a healthy climate for the cards and payments industry. Croatia will join the EU on July 1, 2013 receiving nearly 4% of its total GDP through the EU Cohesion Policy. According to Timetric, by 2017 the number of payment cards in circulation in the country will reach 13 million.
Banking, trade and tourism account for 70% of real gross domestic product (GDP) in Croatia. Payment card usage levels have reached a high, recording 1.4 debit cards per person in 2008 and 1.7 debit cards per person in 2012. Timetric predicts this could reach to 1.9 cards per person by 2017.
Over the next 5 years contactless cards are expected to gain popularity and join the mainstream payment platform. Visa’s payWave and MasterCard’s PayPass were launched in 2012. Banks are now in the process of replacing standard debit cards for contactless cards. Growth in mobile commerce and the functionalities of search engines and price comparison sites are also expected to be drivers.
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