Stop the Cashback? Only hypotheses, nothing decided

The year has only started a few weeks ago, but the race for the awarding of the "Clickbait 2021" award has already come to life with the titles chosen by several local newspapers intent in these days to decree ahead of time (and without any concrete element) premature end of the State Cashback. In fact, to date there is no certainty, only hypotheses and suggestions that it is necessary to report.

The plots of politics and the future of Cashback

The future of the project is linked to double wire to what has happened, is happening and will happen in and around the Government. Renzi's shoulder avoided at the last minute by Conte, the negotiations on the new majority, the intertwining of the Palazzo and that unwritten rule of do ut des that could lead the executive to accept some form of compromise with the new allies in order to guarantee itself. the support. And the initiative launched in December would be the subject of this: there is talk of an amendment through which to subtract the 4.7 billion euros foreseen for the initiative in order to allocate them to the Ristori decree. We leave it to commentators more accustomed to economic dynamics than us to establish whether for real necessity or to target an idea from the beginning desired and supported by the current Prime Minister.

These are the facts to date, Friday January 22. We have no way of knowing what will happen next. Certainly stopping the Cashback machine in progress, after the work done to overcome the initial criticalities, will not be easy to make the many citizens who have joined it and are doing it every day by choosing digital payment methods for expenses. in stores.

Difficult, very difficult (if not impossible) a sudden and immediate stop. In any case, it would be necessary to pass from publication in the Official Gazette which would take weeks. We remind you that the crediting of the reimbursements accrued during the experimental phase of December is expected by the end of February.

If there is a stop, it will almost certainly coincide with the end of the first of the three foreseen semesters or at the end of June 2021. In this way, you would have all the time necessary to communicate the change to the citizens, not leaving those who have taken part in it to climb the ranking of transactions and thus access the Super Cashback.

More likely everything will remain as it is. A rumor is not a confirmation and as long as the interruption is not put down in black and white, reporting it as something now almost certain is only equivalent to distorting correct information.

Any early shutdown would in any case constitute a defeat for the whole country system. A negative signal for those who believe in the digitization of payments as a useful tool first of all to inflict a severe blow to the scourge of tax evasion.

Cashback has so far proved to be a perfectible initiative. Even the insiders delegated to its management did not hide it: first of all PagoPA engaged in the IO application, taking charge of this part of the many reports received on problems and anomalies every day for a month and a half. Getting rid of it entirely as a mere exercise of political power seems senseless to us and above all a missed opportunity.