Cashback, watch out for the ATM: it doesn't always work

A not insignificant detail on the Cashback issue emerged in these hours following the report by Sole24Ore according to which the Maestro circuit has not yet been enabled on ATMs due to the lack of a specific agreement between the parties. This could result in the lack of cashback on some transactions for the simple fact that the transaction itself is conveyed through Maestro instead of through PagoBancomat. Nothing strange, but at the same time something you need to know in order to be sure that your purchases can be duly registered.

In short, it is not enough to add your ATM card on the IO app to be fully certain of the cashback: here's how to avoid "wasting" this opportunity with some simple precautions.

Cashback, better to avoid Maestro

In this regard, the official website offers specific operating instructions for each type of ATM in use. Here they are:

19-digit ATM (3-digit security code)

You can enable Cashback on IO: "Add the card in the Wallet section, by selecting 'PagoBANCOMAT Card'. If your card is already in the Wallet, select it to check the Cashback status. To receive all valid transactions on the Maestro circuit, add the card also as a credit, debit or prepaid card "8-digit ATM (security code not present)

Partial Cashback support: "Add the card in the Wallet section by selecting 'PagoBANCOMAT Card'. If your card is already in the Wallet, select it to check the Cashback status. To receive all valid transactions, check if it is possible to enable the Maestro circuit through one of the Affiliated Issuers "16-digit Bancomat (security code not present)

Partial Cashback support:" Add the card in the Wallet section by selecting 'PagoBANCOMAT card'. If your card is already in the Wallet, select it to check the Cashback status. To receive all valid transactions, check if it is possible to enable the Maestro circuit through one of the Affiliated Issuers "To remedy the problem, contactless payments should be avoided (those that occur simply by placing the card on the POS, a system that is now increasingly common) for the reasons explained by Sole24Ore:

The inconvenience that is causing inconvenience is caused by the fact that "Maestro" has not yet signed the agreement with Pago PA and therefore the necessary technical implementations have not yet been developed to allow saving on 'App IO the Maestro circuit debit card, if not those that can be associated through a “3DS” transaction. In almost all cases the debit cards in circulation issued by Italian banks support both circuits, but when the contactless Pos is used, the payment is often automatically conveyed on the international Maestro circuit without the cashier asking the customer if he intends to use the national circuit (Pagobancomat) or the international one (Maestro).

To date it is not clear when this agreement can be signed, nor if there are already basic agreements between the parties that will soon lead to full integration. Until then, however, it is necessary to pay attention, favoring the PagoBancomat channels over the Maestro ones by virtue of the fact that the difference is equivalent to 10% of the amount that you are about to pay. Those who have already made contactless payments in these days, therefore, probably will not find them counted.

Everything, to be honest, was explicitly indicated on the official website of the IO app, but Italians often pay with the ATM without having real awareness of the circuit used: this inevitably created this small information short circuit that will deny the cashback during this initial phase in which no one was clear about the distinction between the two instruments.