Italian banks have declared war on cash

The Association of Italian Banks (ABI) declared "war on cash" designed to increase the spread of electronic transactions in the country, reported Bloomberg. Italian bankers argue that the low level of plastic cards in the country each year costing financial institutions and businesses 10 billion euros. These funds are spent on maintenance of cash payments (mainly for personnel and security). ABI intends to fight for the reduction of these costs through the promotion of electronic payments using credit and debit cards in both the private and public sector. According to official statistics, Italy is losing up to 100 billion euros for a large share of shadow economy, which reaches 22 percent of GDP. In southern Italy, where the act of a criminal gang countries, companies often pay workers in cash to avoid taxation. ABI is now seeking the government ban on paying salaries in cash. Average Italian, analysts say the Bank of Italy, commits per year 26 transactions using credit cards. For comparison, a resident of the UK a year spends five times more transactions using credit cards. Source: lenta.ru