Cashback electronic payments: how it works
With the so-called August Decree definitively converted into law 126 of 13 October 2020 (and more precisely with articles 73 and 105) the Government has given the go-ahead to state cashback to encourage the use of electronic money and combat tax evasion. But what exactly does this mean and, above all, how to benefit from it? I'll explain it to you immediately.
Let's start from the basics, namely from what is a cashback. Well, cashback is a mechanism that allows you to receive a refund for an expense made according to certain rules (e.g. by spending a certain amount, performing a certain number of transactions, using a certain payment method and so on): this is not new, many companies offer it to encourage sales; the novelty is that now in the city there is one promoted directly by the state.
What, then, does the government's cashback consist of? In the possibility of obtaining a reimbursement of 10% up to a maximum of 300 euros / year on purchases made with e-money at i physical stores. For electronic money we mean all traceable payment methods that do not involve the use of banknotes or physical coins, therefore credit cards and debit cards, ATMs and payment systems for smartphones (eg. Satispay; Apple Pay and Google Pay are arriving).
To choose which payment systems to participate in the cashback, citizens must register the latter in the IO app of the Public Administration, available for both Android and iOS / iPadOS (although in the future the system should also be open to the apps of operators that provide payment tools). For each transaction, the necessary data (date, amount, etc.) will be transmitted by PagoPA (the entity that manages the transaction) to the cashback system. The program - for the sake of completeness of information - can be canceled at any time, but in this case all accumulated points will be lost.
There are no restrictions on the product category of reimbursable expenses: cashback can be obtained by ordering breakfast at the bar as well as by purchasing a television in an electronics store; they are instead excluding online purchases (as already tracked, and the measure of the Government is aimed at combating tax evasion) and the expenses related to one's professional or business activity.
The initiative will start experimentally from the8 to 31 December 2020, when they will be enough alone 10 traceable payments to get a 10% refund. The maximum reimbursement 150 €, will be disbursed at the end February 2021 da Consap (the Public Insurance Services Concessionaire) and will be credited to the bank account indicated by each citizen in the IO app.
A January 2021, when the state cashback mechanism is fully operational, it will take at least 50 traceable payments per semester (therefore at least 100 traceable payments per year) to obtain reimbursement, with one minimum spending threshold of 1.500 euros per semester (therefore 3.000 euros per year). Only transactions up to a maximum value of 150 euros per single transaction will be taken into account (therefore the reimbursement per single transaction will never exceed 15 euros, even if the amount spent for the single transaction will exceed 150 euros; this also applies to the December test).
To be precise, the program had to last3 semesters: January 1, 2021 - June 30, 2021; 1 July 2021 - 31 December 2021; January 1, 2022 - June 30, 2022, ma in June 2021 the suspension of the initiative was decided, which is therefore to be considered concluded after the first half of the year. Il reimbursement is up to 300 euros per year (10% on a maximum of 1.500 euros for each semester) and is credited in slice up to a maximum of € 150 each, paid out within 60 days of the end of each period.
In addition to the “basic” cashback, a super cashback with a final prize of 3.000 euros (1.500 euros per semester) for the 100.000 citizens who will have used electronic payment systems the most. It should be emphasized that it is not the value of the items purchased that counts, but the number of operations carried out. In other words, once the expenditure ceiling required to obtain the “basic cashback” has been reached, to obtain the super cashback it is necessary to make as many expenses as possible with electronic money (even if small) and not a few substantial expenses. In short: it is better to pay for coffee at the bar every day with electronic money than to buy an expensive one-off product. The ranking of the most active citizens, in terms of electronic payments, will always be available through the IO app.
The super cashback will also take place in parallel with the “basic cashback” (it was also suspended after the first half, in June 2021). Special refunds are issued within 60 days of the end of each period. Each semester the ranking is reset.
Another interesting initiative, which will start in February 2021, is the Receipt lottery, through which all in your languagen citizens of age will be able to associate their purchases made with electronic money to a code (the lottery code, to be requested on the official website of the initiative by entering your tax code) to show to merchants. Each receipt associated with the lottery code allows you to obtain a virtual ticket for each euro spent, up to a maximum of 1.000 virtual tickets for purchases of an amount equal to or greater than 1.000 euro; if the amount spent is higher than 1 euro, any decimal figure higher than 49 cents will produce another virtual ticket.
The Receipt Lottery provides draws on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis. In the first case, the former are up to € 25.000 for buyers and up to € 5.000 for merchants; the weekly prizes are up to € 100.000 for buyers and € 20.000 for merchants, while the annual prizes include a premium of 5 million for buyers and 1 million for exhibitors.
Prizes must be claimed within 90 days of receiving the notification of winning (via SMS, email or instant messaging if the relevant details have been provided by the customer in the restricted area of the Lottery Portal or via PEC or registered A / R).
For more information, I invite you to consult my dedicated tutorial and the page dedicated to the drawings on the lottery ticket portal.
Cashback Government: how to participate
Now you should have quite clear ideas about the general functioning of the state cashback, but how do you actually get it? What are the exact steps to take? I'll explain it to you right away.
As amply emphasized above, everything revolves around theIO application for Android and iOS / iPadOS, which allows you to interact in a very simple way with various services of the Public Administration.
Credentials are required to access the app SPID or a active electronic identity card and associated PIN. If you have never heard of it, the SPID (acronym for Public System of Digital Identity) is a system that allows you to access all the services of the PA (and not only) using the same credentials and can be obtained by contacting one of the many identity providers enabled.
The request can be made in a few simple steps online; activation can take place remotely or up close, even for free. In general, the quickest and simplest procedure is the one that involves the online activation request and recognition by scanning the electronic identity card with your smartphone. Alternatively, it can record a video in which they show an identity document, the health card (or the tax code) and read a temporary code received via SMS or app.
As mentioned, generally the procedure is at no cost, but there can be variable costs from provider to provider (usually limited and linked exclusively to identification in person or remotely made with the help of a human operator). For all the details, see my tutorial on how to request the SPID.
Once you have the SPID, you can install the app IO through the store of your smartphone (just look for it in the latter, press on the relevant icon in the search results and press the button Ottieni / Installa) and log in following the guided procedure: it is a question of logging in with SPID, enter the fiscal Code and create a unlock code. Once this is done, you are practically ready to proceed.
In fact, you just have to register the electronic payment methods you want to use to get the Government cashback within the app: to do this, select the tab Payments of the IO application, click on the item Add relating to payment methods, choose the payment method to register (eg. credit / debit card) and fill out the form that is proposed to you with the relevant data.
Once you have added your cards, you must sign up for the government cashback program. To do so, click on the appropriate button in the section Our customers of I; if you don't see it, go to the section Services, search for "Cashback" and tap on the item relating to the initiative. Then press the button Activate Cashback (you can also choose which alerts to receive via the appropriate levers) and that's it.
At this point, returning to the section Our customers of the IO app you should see the card Cashback: press on it, move up ON the levers relating to the cards you want to use for payments in stores and give confirmation. If you use external services such as Satispay, you can activate the latter also through the entries in the related apps (for example in Satispay you just need to go to Services> Cashback, press the button Activate Cashback and confirm by ticking the boxes for the various consents).
To change theIBAN for accreditation Cashback, press on the item Modification relating to the latter. To view the transaction detail valid for the cashback you have made, press the relevant button at the bottom of the page (at the top, however, you can view the counter with the number of valid transactions carried out in the current period).
Finally, in case of second thoughts, I point out that you can cancel your Cashback membership by pressing the appropriate button at the bottom of the dedicated IO app screen.
How to shop with e-money
How do you say? Don't have a card or other electronic payment system yet to take advantage of the state cashback? Not sure how to make payments with e-money? Then read on: I'm about to suggest some of the best services for cashless payments, with relative indications on how to use them.
N26
Among the best solutions you can rely on to make purchases with electronic money, both in physical and online stores, there is N26. It is a real direct bank without branches - with protection of funds - created for smartphones. Born in Germany in 2015 and in the city since 2017. N26 allows you to open an account with an in your languagen IBAN conveniently from the app. Includes one Mastercard debit card can be used all over the world without surcharges on exchange rates and perfectly compatible with state cashback. It can in fact be used with classic payments via contactless POS or even from smartphones and smartwatches, with systems such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The N26 account can also be used for the domiciliation of utilities and, of course, for the receipt of state cashback. The basic one has no fixed costs, but there are also others with additional functions and features: here they are all in detail.
- N26 Standard - there is no fixed cost and includes a transparent Mastercard debit card accepted everywhere and with support for contactless and smartphone payments. Includes free payments in any currency, free withdrawals in euros from any bank, 2 spaces to save with N26 Spaces, deposit protection up to 100.000 euros, 3D Secure to protect online payments, secure access via double authentication and chat support in in your languagen .
Learn more about the N26 account
- N26 You - costs 9,90 euros / month. Includes all the benefits of N26 Standard plus a Mastercard debit card in 5 colors, the ability to apply for an additional card, free withdrawals in any currency anywhere, medical coverage in case of emergency, travel coverage in case of cancellation , flight insurance in case of delay, delayed or lost baggage insurance, mobility insurance for shared vehicles, winter sports insurance in case of accidents and 10 spaces to save with N26 Spaces (with spaces shared with other 10 N26 customers and discounts and offers from selected partners).
Learn more about N26 You
- N26 Metal - costs 16,90 euros / month. It includes all the benefits of N26 You plus a steel Mastercard debit card, car rental coverage away from home, smartphone insurance, theft and damage coverage, 10 spaces to save with N26 Spaces (with spaces shared with 10 other N26 customers, discounts and offers from selected partners and exclusive experiences) and telephone support.
Learn more about N26 Metal
The aforementioned accounts are also available in version Business, for freelancers and freelancers. More info here.
As mentioned above, opening an N26 account takes just a few minutes. All you have to do is download the official app of the service for Android or iOS / iPadOS, launch it and press on the option for to open an account.
Therefore, follow the instructions on the screen, entering the requested data in the appropriate forms, choosing the type of account to open and the type of card to obtain and then verifying your identity by passport or identity card (you will have to photograph the document and take a selfie) and SMS verification code.
After the necessary document checks, your account will be active and you can use it to shop in physical stores and also get state cashback.
You can fund your N26 account in several ways: by making a transfer to theIBAN associated with the latter, through the function of request for money included in the app, by debit card or by depositing cash at some affiliated supermarkets. To add the card to Apple Pay or Google Pay, just press the appropriate button or follow the classic procedure for adding cards to your smartphone wallet: it's very easy. Once done, you can pay in physical stores simply by bringing the N26 card or the smartphone / smartwatch to which you have associated it with the POS.
For more information, see my tutorial dedicated entirely to N26. For further details related to the operation of N26 with the state cashback, instead, consult the official blog of the digital bank.
Article created in collaboration with N26.
Government Cashback: How It Works
