Financial statistics records an increase in the volume of cash inflows in national currency on an annualized basis. In June, banks accumulated 86,450.4 million lei (+5.5%), but the trend of cash outflow persisted. In January-June 2025, the volume of cash withdrawals from banks’ cash offices exceeded the volume of cash inflows into the banking system by 2,383.9 million lei.
The change in the volume of bank savings was, of course, influenced by the increase in receipts on current and deposit accounts of individuals by 1,356.2 million lei (+17.9%), as well as by the cash proceeds from the sale of consumer goods (regardless of the sales channel), which increased by 4.9%, amounting to about 50 billion lei, which is more than half of the total sales turnover. However, there was a decrease in revenues from other services – by 205.5 million lei (-3.1%).
As for cash disbursement from banks’ cash offices in the first half of 2025, it increased in annual terms by almost 5 billion lei (+5.9%) and amounted to about 89 billion lei. This amount is mainly (23%) due to the purchase of foreign currency from individuals for 3,715.5 million lei, which amounted to 20,523.8 million lei (equivalent to 1,052.6 million euros).
Citizens are more and more actively exchanging the available funds. The outflow is also influenced by the increase in the volume of cash withdrawals from ATMs by 1,412.5 million lei (+3.8%) and in the volume of credits granted to individuals by 576.6 million lei (+29.5%).
The sales of foreign currency by individuals continue to grow. In June, 344 million euros (in equivalent) were recorded against 337 million a year earlier (+2%). In the structure of sales, there are still growing sales of euro (by 15%) and decreased sales of dollar (by 26%). Total sales amounted to 250 million, or 73% of all sales, which is quite explainable by the growth of the exchange rate and the predominant transition of the population to savings in the single European currency.
“There has been a fundamental change. For the first time in recent times, the volume of foreign currency purchases by the population has increased – from 86 million euros in June 2024 to 89 million euros in June 2025, or by 3.1%. But another thing is important. This growth was mainly due to the growth of dollar purchases – by 14%, or by 2.1 million (in euro equivalent), which is also associated with the dollar exchange rate. Although, it should be noted that the share of euros in purchases prevails, as well as in sales – more than 70%,” says economist Volodymyr Golovatyuk.
So it is too early to discount the dollar in favor of the country’s accounting currency, bearing in mind the “different savings baskets”.
