Financial affiliate programs in Romania: market, consumer, perspectives

. Romania. Picturesque nature, rich fauna, flora, and ancient mystical history…, but we won’t go into details.Let’s leave that to the tourists and Bram Stoker lovers;) We are interested in more pragmatic things – economics, internet, technology, modernity, and affiliate programs in PDL in particular. So, what about Financial affiliate programs in Romania?

Today Romania is a 19.5 million member of the European Union. 9th place according to the population in Europe. Country with an industrial-agricultural economy. Represented by the following industries: mining, timber, metallurgical, chemical, mechanical engineering, food, oil refining, and tourism.

High economic growth rates (on average higher than in the rest of Europe) and low public debt make the country attractive for investment. And one of the world’s highest average Internet connection speeds and an increased number of Internet users (14,5 М+) – fascinating GEO for IT companies and their products.

The country is one of the leading IT hubs in the world with a large number of young talented specialists who are increasingly challengingto keep from moving to other European countries, which is a realproblem now and in the future.

Market and consumer: who should affiliates working under credit affiliate programs target traffic to? 

The Romanian microcredit market is quite interesting for affiliates and traffic teams, although relatively small in size. Up to 10 players can be distinguished, among which the top three are financial affiliate programs HoraCredit, Viaconto, and Ferratum. The market is alive and growing, as evidenced by the appearance of new lander players, including brokers (and they definitely have a “flair” for interesting GEOs).

More financial affiliate programs you can find here

Romania is similar to Ukraine 4-5 years ago but already regulated. Today, the microcredit niche is technically and technologically ready for a “spurt”, which we have been able to observe in many countries over the last few years. All PDL have implemented automation and those tools that have long existed in the developed countries of the world

Fintech has already tested all models, giving the customer a convenient service. At this stage, advertisers need to actively attract new customers and work on improving their product, expecting increased competition. Regarding this, the role of CPA networks and affiliates who will help attract users on an ever larger scale, using classic and non-standard methods and traffic channels, will also grow.

A little bit numbers

It is important to mention the scoring system of advertisers  that helps to decide who  can get a loan and who can’t, because there is a high chance that the borrower will not return it. The PDL segment in Romania is generally automated. More than 70% of decisions are made by the systems based on a vastnumber of rules and their variations (in particular, in HoraCredit). This significantly increases the effectiveness of financial partnership programs. At the same time, 90% of the banking sector is still using employees and excel files due to this credit niche’s traditional nature and conservatism.

Suppose we are talking about the portrait of the average Romanian borrower. In that case, these are men and women from 25 to 50 years old with a low and average salary (“blue” and “white-collar” workers), who take loans for their daily needs, in emergencies, or for impulsive purchases shortly before payday. The male audience is slightly outnumbered.

Most of the target audience of the PDL product in Romania is concentrated in large cities (Bucharest, Iași, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Constanța, Craiova, Galați, Brașov, and others). Still there are many requests from small towns and villages. We can say that the highest percentage of nonperforming loans comes from rural and small cities due to the risks of non-return and non-compliance of clients with internal scoring criteria.

Among the main reasons for the rejection of a loan application are:

• lack of information about income in the databases of the country;
• bad credit history of the client;
• no stable income;
• have current outstanding loans;
• a borrower is a public person. 

Also in Romania, there is a service similar to the Ukrainian БКИ/УБКИ (Bureau of Credit Histories) called ANAF, which is used by advertisers when making loan decisions.

If the client sends all the information and documents necessary for approval at the time of application, and the loan is approved instantly (from 15 seconds up to 3 minutes).

Several major market players for all customers have a 0% interest rate on the first loan for the first 15 days. The HoraCredit has the rule that the amount of the penalties cannot exceed the amount granted/ remaining principal.

You can find more information about the target audience in the extended presentation from HoraCredit. It will be helpful for affiliates who write detailed reviews about a particular microcredit service and those who have decided to work with this particular financial affiliate program.   

Traffic: effective channels and methods for pouring on affiliate programs in Romania

Google and Facebook are still the biggest traffic sources for our affiliates. Some traffic partners are trying SMS mailings, but it’s not cheap because SMS to Romania costs an average of 1,4 UAH (0,035 USD). And mailing is a rather complicated and sensitive thing, requiring a detailed study and elaboration of the nuances of GDPR. Romania is a member of the EU. Therefore the collection and use of personal data by third persons are strictly regulated by law. Financial affiliate programs in Romania is very perspective.

TikTok has also proven itself well. There is quite a lot of traffic, and it is comparatively cheap, but the conversion sometimes “jumps” a lot. You need to test different creos and options.

Search advertising works best for HoraCredit, like for other landers. It shows the highest conversion from the lead. Facebook has a slightly lower conversion rate, but the relatively low cost of traffic offsets this. And the lowest approval and conversion is in TikTok, but there is also the lowest cost per click of those listed, of course. The average conversion from click to issue to a new client from social networks in full ranges from 0.3% to 0.5%.

Microcase for earning online through pouring traffic in the PDL vertical

• It has already been said about TikTok: launching according to the scheme using a  cloaca.
• Optimizing for “customer request” (not tested for a deal yet)
• Placement: Tiktok only
• Age: from 25
• Android: from 8.0
• Interests: loans, insurance
• Optimization: by sex and age
• A note for affiliates-readers – contact your personal SD affiliate managers for details

In the Best Traditions of the Microfinance Market, the most crucial channel for attracting traffic for the top PDL in Romania is their marketing teams working with almost all available channels. Affiliates working through partner programs of CPA networks and directly with advertisers also play a significant role. Of course, the Romanian market is less highly competitive than in many other countries, where there are 20-30 lander players. Therefore, we cannot talk about a large share of affiliate traffic. However, there are advantages to this as well – large publishers who want to enter this market can take top positions in auctions and quickly bite off a considerable share.

There are also several brokers on the market with their affiliate programs, and new ones gradually appear; some are free, and some are paid. Today, such services occupy a relatively small market share, but their number is growing, and microfinance organizations cooperate with them. There are several brokers in our network, so if you have financial traffic in Romania or would like to test several of these affiliate programs, we will be happy to provide you with the best conditions for them.

Some more PDL market numbers in Romania that will help affiliates in their work

• most PDL give out between 100 and 5000 RON (exchange rate 4.6-5 RON per 1 USD)
• average check ~ 900 RON
• APR – 1,2%
• CR from clicks to issue (average for all paid sources) – 0,6%-0,7%
• CPA payouts – 30-100 euro
• CPL payouts – 2-4 euro
• A new client takes 2.5-3 loans per year (including the 1st)
• Repeat client – 5-6 loans per year, and his LTV is more than 12 months
• Permissible default rate – up to 6% 

Laws and regulation of the microcredit market

It is essential to understand that there are laws governing the PDL market in Romania, just like in other countries. Only microcredit companies that have official licenses in the market should be advertised. These PDL advertisers are the most popular among the population. And their affiliate programs have the highest rates of CR, AR, and eCPC.

PDL activity is regulated by the National Bank of Romania, which very strictly controls compliance with the requirements specified in the laws. Besides, NBR oversees the organization’s activities which issues licenses. It is impossible to carry out related promotional activities or resell traffic under PDL licenses in Romania. As for legislative changes in the market, nothing significant is expected shortly. Besides that, in 2023, all financial companies must implement a financial instrument such as IFRS9.

As a separate point, GDPR compliance is vital as Romania is part of the EU.

General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR –  is a Regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA).

The company is active in the financial and credit services market, which requires processing large-scale clients’ data. Therefore, the designation of the data protection officer (DPO) is required to ensure the company’s compliance with the data protection obligations and to strengthen the exercise of data subjects’ legal rights.

Internal or external experts in the data protection field can cover the position of DPO. Professional qualities, knowledge of data protection law and practices, and ability to fulfill assigned duties are essential. Moreover, the DPO can perform other tasks and responsibilities. However, the assessment of the conflict of interest in such a case shall be made, especially when the specialist combines their DPO duties with other positions in the company. The contact details of the DPO shall be communicated to the supervisory authority. Where required, the DPO shall act as a contact person between the supervisory authority and the company regarding data protection-related issues.

Work with API traffic

Our CPA network has more redirect affiliate programs when affiliates pour traffic to advertiser sites, which is further converted into targeted action leads/issued loans. But there is also an opportunity to work on the API when the affiliate sends ready-made, legally collected leads. If you are interested, please write to support, and we will prepare information about integration and cooperation rules.

In the course of cooperation with the traffic partners. The following conditions shall be considered within the scope of the GDPR application:

• (a) The role of the company and traffic partner in the marketing campaign, i.e., controller / joint controller/processor, depending on how the personal data is collected, controlled, and processed, who defines its purposes and scope, and also considering that legal obligations of data controller in the chain are more comprehensive in comparison to the data processor;
• (b) Legal grounds for data processing and the possibility to demonstrate that the data is processed lawfully, i.e., an explicit consent, for example, was valid at the time of data processing;
• (c) Extraterritorial effect of GDPR obligations, especially in monitoring data subjects’ behavior as far as their behavior takes place within the Union. It is vital for affiliates because of the use of cookies, pixels, and similar technologies in the marketing campaign;
• (d) Privacy Notice and Cookie Policy shall be prepared with a high level of transparency as relates to all data processing practices;

On a case-by-case basis, to save time, it may also be reasonable to integrate special software developed based on the GDPR requirements that can be used to ensure compliance with the law. There are different providers of such services in the market.

Future. Affiliate programs in Romania. What next?

Product improvement. Advertisers in Romania will continue to focus on making their products fast and easy to use. Try to do the maximum number of actions for the client, to make this “journey” easy. Fast and convenient for him. Ideally, one or two clicks. This will be achieved through higher levels of automation (scoring, integration, bidding) and UX/UI improvements focusing on top international samples.

Increasing competition and demand. The market is already quite “adult”. It has 10 or more years old products, but looking at the dynamics, this is just the beginning. And in the coming year, the number of players and brokers will grow significantly. Everything that has already happened, for example, with the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, is just beginning in Romania. This is because all products have gone through certain stages, and technologically. All players are ready to accept a large number of new customers in terms of speed, capabilities, and integrations. And clients, in turn, can get what was impossible 2 years ago: сdecision-making speed, transaction speed, and convenience.

And now, this “new and convenient” is already becoming common practice for users, who are ready to use credit products more often. The volume of the audience and demand is growing. And the market is growing with it.

Conclusions about Financial affiliate programs in Romania

Make your conclusions.) We are convinced that in the future, there will be an increase in the number of affiliate programs and improving conditions in existing ones. PDL in Romania is an exciting and promising segment for affiliates. In a country with a large population where there is demand (average wages are lower than European), advanced IT and financial technologies, but still low competition between lenders. High payments compensate for the relatively low CR in the issued loan.

If you are still thinking about how to make money online in Romania – welcome to our CPA network, register, choose the best financial affiliate programs and earn money with us.

Go Romania)

The material was prepared by COO of SalesDoubler, Yaroslav Semkiv, with the information support of HoraCredit