(Re) starts the Italia Cashless plan. All bonuses coming in December
It was an evening meeting that took many observers off guard, the one the other evening at Palazzo Chigi between the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte , and the major players in the cashless world. The fight against paper money is an old workhorse of Movimento 5 Stelle, which had already insisted on lowering the cash ceiling, recently dusted off when it came to robust VAT cuts to restart consumption in the pandemic period. The Italia Cashless plan now regains renewed vigor and also an unprecedented substance.
MEASURES POSTPONED
As is well known, although widely publicized, the receipt lottery measures and the "Befana bonus" for consumers who pay by card had been postponed several times (the 3 billion allocated with the last maneuver were in fact used as coverage for the Relaunch decree). But now the government, in view of the next budget, wants to show that it still controls that land. After all, it was the premier himself, at the end of the General States in June, who said that the Italia Cashless plan was still at the center of the Giallorossi's reforms.
THE MEASURES LAUNCHED SO FAR
For some measures lost in the mists, others have been successfully carried out. Such as, for example, the 30% tax credit on commissions charged to merchants and professionals for transactions made with credit, debit or prepaid cards and other traceable instruments, taken on July 1st. Also in July, it was established that, starting from 2021, the threshold for contactless payments without Pin will be raised: from the current 25 to 50 euros. A stratagem that on the one hand will speed up payment operations at the cashier but on the other also risks facilitating scams.
THE ITALIAN CASHLESS PLAN RESTART
“The Italy Cahsless Plan is a project that the government particularly cares about, a project that I believe very much in”, Conte has now returned to underline, who seems determined to put his face on the project. “Fostering the digitization of payments without penalizing can lead to a change in consumer habits. We had a meeting with all the stakeholders, card managers, payment systems, bank representatives and we made a very positive operational comparison. Everyone realizes the importance of the plan and this will mean encouraging the use of digital payments, making the system faster, more transparent and traceable and in perspective it means laying the foundations for recovering the underground economy ".
THE ITALIAN CASHLESS PLAN
After the meeting between the Government and the main players (American Express payment services, Banca Sella, Bancomatpay, Bnl Axepta, Iccrea, Intesa Sanpaolo, Nexi, Paytipper, Postepay, Satispay and Unicredit) it seems that the executive has decided to accelerate on the Cashless Italia Plan changing, for its entry into force scheduled for December 1st, the cashback rules, with the extension of the benefits already announced (a 10% premium for more expenses up to 3,000 euros) to all expenses made with electronic money or other forms of payment tracked the mechanism. Not only that: all product categories and services will also be covered (previously it seemed that the measure focused only on the activities with the highest risk of evasion, from barbers to technicians, passing through garages and professionals).
WHO IS EXCLUDED
The only ones not able to benefit from the prizes will be e-commerce users as in that case electronic payment is already the only one allowed, so there is no need to encourage the use of cards, considered more virtuous by the legislator than the old cash. .
THE INCOGNITA OF THE COVERINGS
However, the uncertainty of coverage remains: originally 3 billion had been allocated, which would however be insufficient with the new enhanced Italy Cashless Plan. There is therefore talk of doubling the stakes, which could still not be enough if the Italians, enticed by the possibilities of saving, accelerate with consumption.
DO YOU HOPE TO USE EUROPEAN FUNDS?
Today's meeting of the Interministerial Committee for European Affairs (CIAE), chaired by Conte , could explain why the Prime Minister summoned the main actors of the revolution he has in mind to Palazzo Chigi on Monday. Today, in fact, the draft guidelines will be finalized to request the European Commission for the Recovery plan, a fund worth 209 billion euros (a little grants, a little loans) made available by the EU to rebuild the country after the onslaught of the pandemic. In all likelihood, therefore, the acceleration towards the cashless society is also to be included in the folds of the document, which the executive aims to pass as a reform. "As per the Commission's timeline, the text will be presented between January and April 2021 because this is the calendar established by Europe for all 27 member states", explained the Minister for EU Affairs, Enzo Amendola , specifying that "there is no there are neither delays nor divisions in the preparatory work of the executive. These are unfounded news ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/fintech/riparte-il-piano-italia-cashless-tutti-i-bonus-in-arrivo-a-dicembre/ on Fri, 25 Sep 2020 18:23:37 +0000.