• A EUR 25.3 million loan from Banca Transilvania to the Romanian courier operator Delivery Solutions S.A., which operates the Sameday and easybox brands.
• The loan will support the company’s medium-term investment plans and the expansion of its Sameday easybox delivery infrastructure.
• The EBRD will cover 65% of the transaction’s credit risk through its risk-sharing framework with Banca Transilvania.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is facilitating access to finance for the Romanian courier operator Sameday, through a risk-sharing agreement with Banca Transilvania.

Under the EBRD’s Risk Sharing Framework (RSF), Banca Transilvania is extending a EUR 25.3 million loan to support Sameday’s medium-term investment plan. Under this agreement, the EBRD assumes 65% of Banca Transilvania’s credit risk in the transaction.

The cooperation underscores the EBRD’s and Banca Transilvania’s commitment to supporting the growth of Romanian companies, with a particular focus on financing innovative solutions and the digitalisation of services.

Sameday offers a full range of next-day delivery services, including delivery and returns via easybox. The EBRD and Banca Transilvania investment will enable the expansion of Sameday’s parcel locker network in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria, adding over 2,500 new lockers in both urban and rural areas.

Demand for contactless delivery to easybox lockers has risen recently thanks to the convenience of locker delivery, and customer preferences for delivery services have evolved over time. According to Sameday’s latest studies in Romania, the easybox delivery and returns service is used by 86% of online shoppers in urban areas. As for preferred delivery methods, 48% of respondents choose easybox, compared with 28% home delivery, which confirms that customers increasingly value the flexibility and control offered by easybox lockers, available 24/7 and typically within a 5-minute walk in cities across Romania. This delivery method is more efficient for both online retailers and consumers and has a smaller environmental footprint. Expanding Sameday’s locker network will therefore enable lower-cost, more sustainable e-commerce deliveries in the country, benefiting consumers and local businesses in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria that sell online. Sameday currently operates 4,960 easybox lockers across the three countries where it is active.

Sameday is the first Romanian courier company to expand regionally, after strong growth in recent years, and is now among the leading players in its market segment. With 16 years on the Romanian market, a team of over 5,000 employees and partners and an integrated digital infrastructure, Sameday is part of Dante International S.A., a major Romanian online retailer that operates the eMAG e-commerce platform, with subsidiaries in Hungary and Bulgaria.

Banca Transilvania is the largest bank in Romania and the main financier of the economy, covering all customer segments and business lines in the financial sector. With a history going back almost 30 years, the bank has a market share of about 20%, 4 million customers, over 9,000 employees, online banking solutions and 500 branches in 180 locations. The value of the Banca Transilvania brand has exceeded USD 500 million and entered the top 300 in the Brand Finance Banking 500 in 2023. Beyond banking, BT aims to have a positive impact in Romania for people, businesses and the environment.

Supporting private-sector growth is one of the EBRD’s key priorities in Romania. To date, the EBRD has invested over EUR 10.5 billion in 517 projects in the country. Most of these projects have been in the private sector.