State cashback arrives: paying with cards and ATMs is now worth even more

It will kick off on December 1, a little earlier than planned, the state cashback. A measure introduced by the government to combat the black economy and to encourage the use of ATM and credit cards.

What does it consist of and how does it work? Let's find out together.

State cashback, what it is

Anticipated ahead of Christmas shopping, state cashback rewards those who choose to use Credit or debit card for his in-store purchases (not online then, mind you!).

With at least 50 purchases per semester, the 10% of what was spent. However, there is a limit (in addition to the fact that the incentive is reserved for those over 18 years of age): the 10% cashback is calculated on a maximum expenditure of 1,500 euros. Reason why every six months it is possible to get a cashback of no more than 150 euros, for a total of 300 euros per year.

However, the government is now working on new incentives, including additional cashback that will reward the 100,000 buyers who make the most transactions.

The first month will be a kind of trial, 10 purchases that must be made from December 1 to 31, 2020 will be enough to get the cashback, and refunds will occur in February 2021. Subsequent cashbacks will be credited in July 2021, January 2022, and July 2022.

How state cashback works

The measure is provided by Law 145/2019, Budget Law 2020, in paragraph 288. Its operation is very simple: you buy a sweater in the store, pay for it with a credit or ATM card, and accrue the right to a refund. A kind of "posthumous rebate" that, on balance, saves money.

Credit will be given on theIban indicated during registration and will be carried out by Consap.

Why is it referred to as registration? Because, in order to accrue state cashback, it is necessary to register with theIo app. Here you will need to enter tax code and Iban, stating "that you use the registered payment instruments exclusively for purchases made outside the business, art or profession."

In the coming months, it will also be possible to get the incentive by registering on the apps of issuer conventions and thus of operators that provide electronic payment systems. It is in this direction that real giants such as Bancomat ("We are working on the integration of the cashback mechanism on BancomatPay," told CEO Alessandro Zollo) and Satispay ("We want our users to have a clear and complete view of how much payments made with any electronic instrument are bringing in terms of cashback," CEO Alberto Dalmasso let us know).

Supercashback and prizes

The government is also thinking about a "supercashback" of 3,000 euros for the first 100,000 citizens who make the most transactions, exceeding the annual ceiling of 3,000 euros (thus, it will not count the amount of individual transactions but their number). Additional cashbacks are also being considered by some banking institutions and Satispay.

And if the government asked for Cancel Pos fees for amounts less than 5 euros, the various apps are working to be as competitive as possible (Satispay has no fees up to 10 euros, BancomatPay even up to 15). Nexi, on the other hand, has introduced Nexi Welcome: fees for charges up to 10 euros will be reimbursed until December 31, 2021.

Then, on January 1, the "Receipt lottery". A contest intended for people over 18 years of age who are residents of Italy and have electronic receipts over 1 euro: each month there will be 10 draws for the cashless lottery and 3 draws for cash payments. Individual prizes will range from 30,000 to 100,000 euros. There will also be an annual maxi draw of €5 million for cashless payments and €1 million for cash payments.

And at Christmas, cashback doubles

A cashback of up to 150 euros in December for those who make at least 10 expenditures with cards and apps in physical stores. The government is working to accelerate extra cashback, a kind of Christmas "bonus" that is expected to kick off in the days just before the end-of-year holidays. It would be a 10% reimbursement -- up to a maximum spending threshold of 1,500 euros -- for those who use cards and apps to pay for spending in December.

This would mean that thanks to this state initiative, it would be possible to achieve 450€ cashback over the 12-month period

It's time to start collecting points

This is the perfect time to begin the journey that leads to free travel thanks to credit card points or staying for free in hotels around the world. Taking advantage of an offer like that Of American Express Gold free for the first year is a really smart choice: if you spend at least 10 thousand at the end of 12 months, you will get 45 thousand MR points as a gift, enough to go to New York for free. Or you could set your sights even higher and take advantage of state cashback to halve the annual fee provided for the American Express Platinum The most exclusive card that, in addition to points, brings you benefits whenever you sleep away from home.

WARNING!!! We deliberately included the word ATM in the title and article, but obviously this mode is to be avoided like the plague. The reason is simple, using the ATM does not bring points, so even one coffee a day can eventually be important in getting to the desired result.

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