PAYMENT SYSTEMS IN ROMANIAN E-COMMERCE: TECHNOLOGY, REGULATION AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

In this paper we provide a theory-informed synthesis of the evolution and adoption of payment systems in Romanian e-commerce and their economic implications at the level of market functioning. Building on transaction cost economics, financial intermediation, diffusion of innovation and network effects, the study proposes a layered analytical framework that links supply-side conditions—payment infrastructure and acceptance capabilities, regulatory constraints, competitive dynamics among providers, interoperability, and pricing structures—with demand-side drivers such as income, financial and digital literacy, trust and risk perceptions, and preferences for speed and convenience. A third, contextual layer captures the role of internet penetration, logistics and returns reliability, urbanisation, demographic structure, and the persistence of cash-oriented payment norms. The research design follows a structured narrative review of regulatory documents, official statistics and peer-reviewed or methodologically transparent analytical reports. Emphasis is placed on recent evidence relevant to Romania and comparable European settings. In the analysis we map these determinants to key operational outcomes that jointly characterise payment performance and user experience, including approval rates, time to access funds, reconciliation burden, and exposure to fraud and chargebacks, as well as observed patterns of checkout completion. What we argue in this paper is that adoption trajectories and performance differences can be interpreted as the joint result of frictions and informational constraints along the purchase journey, mediated by institutional and infrastructural conditions. Therefore, the main contribution lies in consolidating dispersed evidence into a coherent framework that is suitable for subsequent empirical testing and comparative work across markets.