European Round Up

Italy

Italy is looking at possible compensatory measures to help retailers pay card fees following its change of heart on reducing cash limits. The 2023 budget has approved a measure imposing a levy on payment firms and banks if they don’t lower fees on electronic transactions for shop keepers.

The Budget amendment will see the government seeking to broker a deal between banks, payment providers and retailers lowering electronic payment fees on transactions up to a value of €30. This would only apply to businesses with an annual revenue up to €400,000.

If agreement is not reached by 31 March 2023, a ‘solidarity contribution’ equivalent of 50% of the net proceeds from those transactions will be charged.

Greece

The Greek papers noted from the ECB’s SPACE report that one in three Greeks are paid in cash, ranging from 25% to 75% of their income. The papers suggest tax evasion is the reason.

11% said they receive 25% of their income in cash compared with a Eurozone average of 5%. 8% received half and 9% received three quarters of their income in cash. The lowest level of income paid in cash is in Finland, where the figure is 5%.

The number of electronic payments used for consumer transactions in Greece rose from 7% in 2019 to 19% in 2022. For 50% of people card payment is their preference at the point of sale (POS), but 24% prefer cash. This is close to the Eurozone average of 22%.

Despite being such an avid user of cash, the value of Euros held in wallets was €78, just under the Eurosystem average of €83.

Portugal

Portugal has the lowest level of access to payment cards in the Eurozone. Despite that, according to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) SPACE study, the use of banknotes and coins is declining.