Institutions and public authorities in Romania will be obliged to also accept the card payment made online

According to a draft law adopted by the Parliament, institutions and public authorities will be obliged to also accept the card payment made online! The Chamber of Deputies adopted the Draft law for the Amendment on the introduction of obligation regarding modern payment systems. Mentioned normative act in essence has introduced the obligation of economic operator providers of public utility services and of public institutions and authorities to accept payments by cards made online. This obligation was announced as an addition to the already existing one of accepting physical payment by debit, credit or prepaid cards by the public institutions and service providers.

Thus, according to the normative act: "the economic operator's providers of services of public utility, as well as the institutions and public authorities defined by Law no. 500/2002 on public finances, with later amendments and additions and by Law no. 273/2006, regarding the local public finances, regardless of the way of financing and subordination, which collect taxes, fees, contributions, fines, interest, late payment penalties, penalties, tariffs and other payment obligations have the obligation to also accept receipts through debit, credit or prepaid cards, through a POS terminal, as well as through applications that facilitate the acceptance of electronic payments".     

Also, according to the new law, legal entities carrying out retail and wholesale activities, as well as those that carry out service activities, which annually make receipts, with cash or through payment instruments, of at least EUR 30,000 in Lei equivalent, have the obligation to accept as a means of payment the debit, credit or prepaid cards through a POS terminal and/or other modern acceptance solutions (including the applications that facilitate the acceptance of electronic payments). 

The obligation of acceptance by the mentioned legal entities of debit, credit or prepaid cards, through a POS terminal or other modern acceptance solutions, starts from the quarter following the one in which the receipts exceeded the threshold of EUR 30,000. The exchange rate for determining the equivalent in Lei is the one communicated by the NBR (National Bank of Romania) on the last day of the previous year.         

However if for two consecutive years, that threshold has not been exceeded, those entities are no longer required to accept debit, credit or prepaid cards via a POS terminal and/or other modern acceptance solutions. 

Economic operators providers of services of public utility, as well as public institutions and authorities defined by Law no. 500/2002, with subsequent amendments and additions and by Law nr. 273/2006 on local public finances with subsequent amendments and completions, regardless of the way of financing and subordination, which collect taxes, fees, contributions, fines, interest, penalties, late payment penalties, tariffs or other payment obligations, have the obligation to accept the collection of amounts through an electronic remote/online payment system.

Entities that have collection points located in areas not served by electronic communications networks are exempted from these publications.

Within 60 days from the date of entry into force of this Law, the Ministry of Finance together with the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, is expected to amend the methodological norms for the application of the provisions of GEO no. 193/2002 on the introduction of modern payment systems with amendments and additions made by Law no. 250/2003, as well with subsequent amendments. The draft will be sent to the President of Romania for promulgation in the upcoming days.