What happens on PagoPa

What does the government's amendment to the Pnrr decree on the sale of PagoPa, the digital payments platform controlled by the Mef, provide for the entry of Poste Italiane? Appreciation of the correction by the Abi. Facts and insights

On the sale to Poste Italiane and Zecca of the State of PagoPa, the digital platform for payments to the Public Administration controlled by the Mef, the Meloni government corrects its approach after the findings of the Antitrust and the banks.

With the decree law on the Pnrr, in force from 2 March 2024, the government intended to sell the ownership of PagoPA Spa: 51% would pass to the State Mint, while the remaining share would go to Poste Italiane.

But the Market and Competition Guarantor expressed a negative opinion on the operation. The rule contained in the Pnrr decree which concerns PagoPA presents "some competitive issues", the Antitrust highlighted .

According to the Authority, «with a view to guaranteeing the market and the rights of potentially interested operators, the identification of the transferee of the 49% share should take place following a competitive auction or in any case a procedure that evaluates and puts comparison of multiple expressions of interest".

The government intervened on the measure, approved by the Budget Committee of the Chamber and scheduled for the Chamber today, with an amendment which provides that Poste Italiane will be a minority shareholder in PagoPA and will not be able to exercise, moreover, any "dominant influence on the government of the society".

Satisfaction on the part of the ABI regarding the corrections to the Pnrr Legislative Decree on the transfer of the payments platform to the PA.

Here are facts and insights.

THE GOVERNMENT'S INITIAL PROJECT

The government had established, in article 20, paragraph 3, of the legislative decree of 2 March 2024, n.19, containing "further urgent provisions for the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan", which, "for the purposes of strengthening the interoperability between public databases and valorisation of the national digital data platform, as well as rationalization and industrial reorganization within the shareholdings held by the State, are attributed respectively to the Printing Institute and the State Mint in an amount of no less than 51% and for the remaining shareholding (49%) in Poste Italiane, the option rights for the purchase of the entire shareholding held by the State in the PagoPA company".

THE CRITICISM OF THE ABI

The Italian banking association chaired by Antonio Patuelli immediately criticized the acquisition of 49% of PagoPa by Poste Italiane, underlining the risks that "competitive equality" with respect to other banking and financial participants in the platform would be undermined.

In a memorandum filed with the budget commission of the Chamber on the Pnrr decree, the ABI noted that Poligrafico (51%) and Poste would exercise "joint control" over the platform, while Poste could be favored "in the knowledge of market information on customers banking” of payment institutions and operators managing public services (quantitative data and behaviour).

THE MEMORY OF THE IBL

Even the experts from the Bruno Leoni Institute had expressed their opposition to the sale to Poste Italiane of a share of the capital of PagoPa, the company that brokers payments to the public administration. “This type of operation, always questionable, appears even more intolerable if it has a theoretically market entity such as Poste Italiane as its counterpart”, underlined in a memorandum by the Bruno Leoni Institute, on the occasion of the hearing in the Chamber on the further privatization of Italian post.

THE HEIGHT OF ANTITRUST

As already mentioned, the operation also received a no from the Market and Competition Guarantor. “The entry of Poste Italiane into the capital of PagoPA could raise some significant problems in the functioning of the market, which primarily affect the digital payments sector and then that of digital notifications”, highlighted the Antitrust in a written statement sent to the commission Budget of the Chamber as part of the examination of the Legislative Decree Pnrr.

THE GOVERNMENT'S CORRECTIVE MOVE WITH THE AMENDMENT TO THE PNRR DL

But in the meantime the government has taken action.

As reconstructed by Sole 24 Ore , “One of the first amendments to review the PagaPa law was presented in parliament by Forza Italia; subsequently those of government initiative were presented.”

The government's amendment states that if Poste Italiane acquires 49% of PagoPa from the Ministry of Economy, as envisaged by the Pnrr Legislative Decree, it will not be able to stipulate shareholders' agreements that have the effect of exercising a dominant influence on the company itself.

Specifically, the proposed amendment specifies that the operation of changing corporate control of the PA's payment platform is subject to preventive control by the Competition Authority.

Furthermore, we read in the technical report to the amendment, it is established that "in order to protect the principles of non-discrimination, neutrality and impartiality, PagoPa guarantees equal treatment between payment service providers participating in the platform and consequently adopts the management and organizational safeguards aimed at avoiding the exploitation of commercially sensitive information relating to all the services provided by the company".

ABI SATISFIED

The executive's move – which effectively limits the influence of Poste Italiane on PagoPa – received applause from the president of the banking association Patuelli.

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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/che-succede-pagopa/ on Mon, 22 Apr 2024 09:33:32 +0000.