As e-banking rises, online shopping falls
Electronic transactions have increased but online shopping has declined since the imposition of capital controls, according to a survey by the Electronic Trade Laboratory (ELTRUN) of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB).
The two main conclusions from the survey on online shopping and e-banking showed that e-shoppers have reduced their purchasing activity and that electronic banking has soared as a result of controls imposed on cash transactions.
“The bank holiday upgraded the Internet into the main means for the execution of limited banking transactions by consumers and enterprises,” AUEB Professor Giorgos Doukissis said. “This is also due to the fact that all Greek systemic banks have advanced online services with high security,” he added.
E-banking transactions increased by 30 percent compared with the time before the capital controls, with certain online services such as money transfers increasing by up to 73 percent. Even the online payment of debts to the state rose 32 percent.
The rate of online shoppers who made purchases regularly since the capital controls were imposed went down to 45 percent from the usual 73 percent, due to payment difficulties.
