Mobile Phone Payment in Restaurants and Cafes Around Corner for Croatians

It might be long before Croatians are able to go out for a bite to eat and settle the bill with their smart phones..

“I am convinced that within three to five years it will be possible to pay for goods at restaurants and cafes in Croatia using a mobile phone,” said Markus Ferstl, the boss of Hypo bank in Croatia, in an interview with daily Jutarnji list.

Ferstl believes that Croatians are open to new technologies, highlighted by the penetration of Internet and smart phone use in the country, and the tendency to use cash less and less when paying for goods. Only a global scale over the last two years, payment by mobile phone has grown at a rate of 40 percent per year, and it is estimated that in 2014 the value of transactions will reach 325 billion USD.

“Mobile and Internet banking is becoming increasingly important, and today not a single bank without these services is competitive. Mobile banking is has seen big growth in the last three years with the advent of smartphones. Just look at our growth: we have 12,000 mobile banking users, of which 7,000 users started in 2013,” said Ferstl, adding that Croatia is the market leader in the region when it comes to mobile banking.

Ferstl says that Hypo bank is set to start a pilot mobile paying programme with a large retailer in Croatia, which will see customers paying with their mobile phones trialled. (pic: Digital Trends)