What happens with the cashback bonus incentive in Italy?

The cashback bonus is the incentive introduced by the Italian government. The main guideline of this measure is to reduce the usage of cash. The government refunded the users which traceable methods of payment under specific conditions. However, in July this year, the Italian Government has stopped or paused the Cashback program. So, let’s find out what happens next.

Although cash is still the most used payment system, electronic transactions in the cashback period grew by 41%. Almost 4 months after the pause of cashback, electronic payments are not decreasing.

In the meantime, studies on the positive or negative consequences of the cashback instrument have continued. Politecnico di Milano has released the first data on the impact of the measure which is very positive. The number of digital transitions increased by 41% in just six months, with a 23% increase in the figures spent digitally.  

Statistic:  After six months of use, the cashback data are: 9 million users, 6.1 million exceeded 50 transactions for a refund of 150 euros, 750 million transactions carried out.

Anyway, this ‘pause’ is valid until 31 December 2021. The stop, however, is valid until 31 December 2021, and therefore in the Budget Law, it will still be necessary to decide whether to cancel the measure or restart it with new changes.