• BT customers can get a credit card in about 10 minutes via the BT Pay app.
• From now on, the journey for a customer who wants a STAR Forte card is 100% online: from applying for and receiving the card to paying for purchases and managing the card.
• STAR Forte is the most popular credit card, offering the option to pay for purchases in up to 24 interest-free instalments or to earn STAR points at programme partners.
• Over 550,000 STAR cards are in Romanians’ wallets, and 1 in 2 is also digital, in BT Pay.
• The BT Pay app has over 1.5 million users, up 80% on the same period last year.

Banca Transilvania customers can apply online for the STAR Forte credit card via the BT Pay app, which means access to funds and to the card in around ten minutes. The option will be rolled out to customers gradually, over approximately a week. This launch is part of the bank’s strategy to keep adding remote banking options. 

As part of Banca Transilvania’s STAR loyalty programme, the STAR Forte card offers the following benefits: a credit limit of up to RON 25,000; purchases in up to 24 interest-free instalments; or loyalty points at over 17,000 merchants, in-store and online.

Customers will receive the physical card at their chosen address or at a BT branch, while the digital version can be used immediately via BT Pay. In BT Pay, customers have all the information about STAR Forte at hand: balance; number of STAR points accumulated; card details; number of instalments remaining; transactions grouped by category; monthly payment obligations; and offers from STAR partners. For online payments, they can confirm the transaction directly on their phone.

The STAR Forte card is intended for Romanian citizens with salary income who have been employed at their current employer for at least 3 months. For the online process, the bank considers the income category that allows it to offer the product fastest to a significant number of customers, namely salary income. At Banca Transilvania branches, people with a much wider range of income types can apply for STAR Forte — salaries, dividends, rent, pensions, etc.

“We have big ambitions when it comes to the bank’s digital transformation. Our plans mainly involve moving most product origination processes into the digital space, so customers will be able to order more and more products and services online, including on their phone. Today’s launch is another step that gives customers much more convenience, further broadening access to banking.”, says Gabriela Nistor, Deputy CEO Retail Banking, Banca Transilvania.

STAR Forte is Banca Transilvania’s first credit card, launched in 2003. The bank has over 550,000 credit cards in total, and 1 in 2 is used in digital form.