Paying the tax stamp with a debit card: “Mission impossible in every second tobacconist”

Paying with a debit card at the tobacconist, a mission impossible in half of the cases. The network of businesses was put to the test by Altroconsumo, which visited 100 tobacconists in 10 Italian cities (Milan, Padua, Rome, Bari, Cagliari, Naples, Bologna, Palermo, Turin and Genoa). The test: buy a 2 euro tax stamp with your credit card or debit card. The result: it was impossible in about half the cases.

According to consumer rights specialists, Genoa and Naples they were the worst cities and only two out of ten accepted the card there. TO Milan a tobacconist even asked for a commission, while Bologna and Padua the best were chosen because in eight out of ten cases it was possible to pay by card. Also Palermo stood out positively with six “yes” out of eight.

The association recalls that the rule that obliges merchants and professionals to accept digital payments for all receipts, even those of very small amounts, has been in force in Italy for almost ten years now. An obligation that has always remained in fact only on paper given that, despite having been announced several times, the sanctions never arrived. In fact, only from 30 June 2022, anyone who does not accept a digital payment of any amount is liable to an administrative fine of 30 euros to which a percentage equal to 4% of the value of the rejected payment must be added. In practice, if a shopkeeper were to refuse a payment of 100 euros he would risk a fine of 34 euros, if he refuses a payment of 5 euros the fine would be equal to 30.20 euros.

The investigation, summarizes a note, showed that in a third of cases the tobacconists who refused digital payment declared that stamps can only be paid in cash. However, the obligation to accept electronic payments for revenue stamps came into force on 26 June (such as, for example, the stamp for the passport), postal ones and monopoly products, such as cigarettes. Furthermore, since 2014 the obligation for retailers to accept digital payments for any amount has been in force. 12% of tobacconists who said no to the request to pay by card said that bank commissions are too high for a 2 euro transaction.