The Confederation of Trade and Services of Portugal (CCP) warned of the need to “guarantee some exceptional situations”, under penalty of penalizing traders, if the Bank of Portugal (BdP) decides on a change in the law imposing the obligation on companies to , in addition to cash, at least one electronic payment method, a measure contained in the National Strategy for Retail Payments 2025, presented yesterday by the regulator.
The reactions don’t stop there. Contacted by Dinheiro Vivo, the president of the Porto Merchants Association, Joel Azevedo, recalled that the availability of electronic payment instruments “always has a financial impact for merchants, no matter how small”. “Today, electronic payment methods are available to customers in much of the commerce, even at the user’s need, but to become mandatory a system must be created that is free. This is the only way this is possible. “
Without neglecting the “huge benefits” of digitalized payments – such as, for example, allowing consumers to access their orders in a more convenient way – the president of the association recalled the loss of effective income from them, at the expense of cash transactions, as these do not need to rent equipment such as automatic payment terminals and commissions for each operation. To become a rule, the person in charge noted, “the Banco de Portugal will have to worry about finding a free way” to do this – “otherwise it seems to me that it is an attempt to abuse this measure, which will certainly cause difficulties, as it forces every trader to use another means of payment that entails costs,” he concluded.
Carla Salsinha, president of the Union of Commerce and Services Associations of the Lisbon and Vale do Teja Region (UACS), shares the same view, saying that she views “this idea of imposition with great concern”, especially since there is a fundamental issue on at stake: the costs this entails for commerce, which are the main reason for many companies not to offer electronic payment methods.
“We can understand the Banco de Portugal’s idea that there will be less and less physical money and more virtual money in circulation, but we must take into account that not all companies have this capacity or cannot adopt it due to the type of We should sit down and drastically reduce the commissions paid to banking and parabanking entities,” he said, giving a practical example that, if a retailer wants to return a terminal, the fee payable for its withdrawal can range from 100 to 180 euros.
Faced with “the frightening number of businesses closing”, the UACS president called for consistency in decisions to be made and that traders should not be placed in a weak position.
Transfer to mobile number
Among the thirty lines of action defined in the National Strategy for Retail Payments 2025, there are others, such as the expansion of the package of electronic solutions for payments to the State by domestic and foreign citizens and companies, the promotion of payment solutions tap-to-phone and similarly, the development of a “tool” that allows bank transfers to be made exclusively via a mobile phone number (as already exists for MbWay subscribers) and the creation of payment solutions e-invoicing (paperless invoices).
Context
The plan presented yesterday by the BdP was prepared by the Forum for Payment Systems (FSP), a consultative structure of the regulator that brings together the main national players in the supply and demand of retail payment services, and aims to “contribute to the provision of secure, efficient and innovative payment solutions in the Portuguese market”, through concrete actions in four pillars: proximity and transparency, innovation and efficiency, security and usability, and resilience and sustainability.
The strategy proposal was publicly consulted for a month (from June 5 to July 5) and several entities commented on that measure, including the CCP, with the above position. On the other hand, while SIBS (owner of Multibanco) and the Portuguese Banking Association (APB) emphasized the “importance” and urgency of such a change, the National Association of Payment and Electronic Currency Institutions (ANIPE), which is commitment to providing support in When defining laws and regulations for the development of the sector, he questioned the legality and complexity of the action.
“Given the free use of human resources and the average level of management skills in Portuguese retail, forcing the hiring of a private service in a sector dominated by a group of related entities representing the overwhelming majority of hold the market share, deserve some form of attention. doubts about its legality, in addition to the fact that it could jeopardize the livelihood or regulatory compliance of certain establishments in peripheral and depopulated areas of the country,” it says can be read in the report.
Mariana Coelho Dias is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
