Serbia's remotely concluded financial deals up 73% y/y in Q1

Out of this number, 14,176 contracts were concluded via video identification, which happens when a consumer is using the services of a bank for the first time, registering an annual increase of 184%, NBS said in a statement earlier this week.

The remaining 44,744 contracts were concluded electronically, between the bank and its existing clients, marking a 53.4% rise compared to the first quarter of 2023.

NBS noted that contracting at a distance for all types of financial products increased in January-March, with the number of current account openings soaring to 10,443 from 3,025 in January-March 2023, the number of demand/time savings account openings more than doubling to 6,519 from 3,187.

The number of current account overdrafts increased to 13,819 from 7,018, the number of contracted cash loans rose to 22,860 from 17,023, and the number of contracts for other services was up at 5,279 from 3,905.