Romanian households hold RON 200.7 billion (EUR 38.2 billion) in passive cash, according to a study from Revolut, which found this withholds RON 5.1 billion (EUR 1 billion) in annual growth capital from the broader economy while losing approximately RON 3,571 (EUR 680) per RON 53,000 (EUR 10,000) to inflation.
By keeping excess capital idle in bank accounts rather than investing, households miss out on an average of approximately RON 1,345 (EUR 256) in potential returns per RON 53,000 (EUR 10,000) each year, according to Revolut’s European Wealth Drain Index.
The research revealed that for a Romanian household with EUR 10,000 in savings, inflation erodes EUR 680 in purchasing power annually. Furthermore, Romania holds RON 200.7 billion (EUR 38.2 billion) in passive bank savings. Investing this cash into diversified capital markets would inject RON 5.1 billion (EUR 1 billion) in annual growth capital into the economy, the authors of the survey argue.
A combination of misjudging inflation-adjusted returns, not switching banks for better returns, and using multiple financial apps, which hinders investing, are the main hurdles identified by the survey among Romanians who do save.
Over 38% of Romanian respondents misjudge their inflation-adjusted returns or lack awareness: 14.8% mistakenly believe their savings rate exceeds inflation (despite Romania’s 8.03% inflation rate exceeding deposit rates), 13.2% are unaware or don’t know, and 10.0% think they are exactly equal.
Nearly three-quarters (72.2%) of savers have never switched banks for a better return. Key reasons include preferring to keep all money at one bank (24.3%), perceiving the rate difference as too small (19.0%), finding switching takes too much effort (15.5%), or not knowing where to look (12.4%).
Over 44% of Romanian respondents (44.1%) use multiple financial apps. For 50.2% of multi-app users, this fragmentation hinders investing: 31.3% lack a clear overview of what they can afford to invest, and 19.3% find transferring money between platforms too much hassle. Furthermore, 50.5% of Romanian respondents would begin if offered investing that starts with small amounts (micro-investing), one of the highest rates in the EU. A total of 31.2% want transparent risk information, while risk perception (25.4%) and a lack of knowledge (22.2%) are top barriers to investing.
The consumer research was conducted by Censuswide in July 2026 among 1,000 respondents (18+ years, nationally representative) in Romania as part of a broader study of 20,007 respondents across 20 EU member states. For Romania, the annual Wealth Drain calculations are based on equivalent data published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR), official deposit statistics, and HICP inflation figures from the ECB and Eurostat, using data available as of June 2026 for the deposit and average 2025 inflation. To ensure a harmonized and conservative comparison across 20 EU member states, the European Wealth Drain Index focuses on demand bank deposits (ECB category ‘overnight deposits’, RON 200.7 billion / EUR 38.2 billion in Romania).
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