What a relief, one might think, that we consumers don't have to pay for all this. But who is it that has to pay? Because someone ultimately has to bear the costs. It is easy to initially assume that it is the retail trade and the banks that benevolently pay for payments. But it is not that simple. The merchants need to have their costs covered; otherwise they will not be able to run their businesses. And the same applies to the banks. The costs of all payments therefore gradually arise as the markups on the prices of the goods and services we buy. Milk and vegetables may become a little more expensive in the shop and the interest on our deposits at the bank may be a little lower than would otherwise have been the case. It is thus we consumers and bank customers who ultimately pay the costs of all payments. But we do not see them. We are therefore led to believe that they do not exist – or that someone is paying them. Shouldn’t the actual costs be visible? Is this a good system? Normally, we want to be able to see what various goods and services cost. The price helps us decide how much we will buy. We do not have any such price signals regarding the different methods of payment. The real prices are hidden. And this raises the question: If we knew what it actually costs, would we change our method of payment?
In 1999, Romania’s GDP stood at merely EUR 33 billion, while GDP per capita was lower than EUR 1,500. This leap, which led to significant changes including higher consumer standards, will have to be accompanied by similar progress in understanding economic issues, so that the path forward should be as smooth as possible. If we look at the long-term development of the Romanian society, the decade elapsed since the launch of Ziarul Financiar is a significant landmark, which can be compared with the significant upturn after World War I and the achievement of the Grand Union of 1918. At such turning points, the quantitative developments, which are nonetheless important, need to be accompanied by qualitative changes that are related to social philosophy as a whole, as well as to progress in national standards and values. From this perspective, the opinionmakers and the press in general play a major role. Economic newspapers in particular find themselves in a very special position. As a matter of fact, the National Bank of Romania has steadily promoted economic education and has done its best to raise journalists’ level of professionalism when approaching economic issues. Let us remember that Ziarul Financiar was launched ten years ago in the very Marble Hall of the NBR. Numerous occasions have arisen over the years when NBR representatives participated in events organised by Ziarul Financiar and vice versa. There has been a steadfast dialogue benefiting, in my opinion, both Ziarul Financiar journalists and central bank experts.