Better to incentivize than punish: the subtle coexistence between digital and cash

This is really happening. In the UK, thousands of supermarkets and shops have signed a pact with the consumer association Which? ensuring that they will continue to accept cash as payment. Among them also some of the largest British retailers, such as Aldi, Co-op, John Lewis and Loyds Pharmacy. And the request from Which? it was also welcomed by some of the reseller associations, with the support of the Bank of England, who, in the voice of Chief Cashier Sarah John said: “The ability to pay in cash remains vital. By signing this agreement, the stores are helping to ensure that everyone is able to use the form of payment that best meets their needs ”. According to a recent report published by Wich? since the start of the pandemic and contact restrictions, 34% of consumers would have had difficulty paying in cash at least once. And the British initiative brings to light the complex balance between the fight against the underground, with the traceability of all transactions guaranteed by digital payments, and the guarantee of access to goods and services for people without a bank account. This is also highlighted by the data from the Italy Eurispes 2021 Report. There is talk of Italy cashless and the fight against cash, the national plan to which cashback is part and, in parallel, the lottery of receipts, with a view, however, not to put too many stakes in the use of cash, but rather to encourage and simplify the use of digital transactions (such as the use of cards without current account obligations). The goal is to reduce tax evasion and recover funds that escape the coffers of the state. Bank of Italy data recounts: POS payments: 230 billion euros, cash payments: 550 billion euros. According to the calculations, with a complete digitization of transactions, up to 28 billion euros of VAT would be recovered.A two-speed Italy, where, while on the one hand it struggles to spread digital payments, on the other there is it is those who, like Storeden, a software house specializing in cloud ecommerce programming, open their sales channels to cryptocurrencies. There are about three thousand virtual shops which, in aggregate, represent about 4% of online commerce in Italy, with 3.5 million monthly users. After 3 years of work, the opening to cryptocurrencies is ready for launch, thanks to an agreement with CoinGate. Buyers will be able to decide to pay in cryptocurrency (about 50 accepted ones), but the merchants will not be forced to accept the cryptocurrency: thanks to the intermediation of the platform, the merchant can choose to receive payment in crypto, current money or with a mixed payment .