Italy's new right-wing government has slipped a surprise change on credit cards into its proposed budget, suspending the requirement for businesses to accept credit card payments and the fines they were subject to for refusal.
The new budget includes a suspension of the rule and the fines through June of next year so the newly-created Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy can “establish new exemption criteria” and “guarantee the proportionality of the given penalties.” The suspension applies to transactions under €30.
The rule, and the fines, were put in place last June under former Prime Minister Draghi as part of a Recovery Plan agreement with the EU that mandated the card acceptance as a tool against Italy's widespread tax evasion.
While it is unclear how that agreement will be affected by the suspension, the immediate effect 'on the ground' is that many more transactions will be in cash, including such often under-€30 items as taxi fares, restaurant bills and grocery purchases.
Comments (0)