Filenews 29 June 2022 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
Although citizens hope to find their convenience with the cashback service, as they will not have to run to banks and ATMs for cash withdrawals and will be able to do so from retail outlets such as supermarkets, bakeries, kiosks and gas stations, the New Association of Kiosk owners disagrees with the implementation of the measure, although some kiosk owners already provide this service to their customers. Yesterday, the implementation of the new service by the banks and the JCC was discussed in the Parliamentary Trade Committee, with the representative of the kiosk owners arguing that there may be a risk to their viability or that of other small businesses.
The president of the new association of kiosk owners (NESYPE) Spyros Xynaris, speaking to the Trade Committee, argued that for the implementation of the new service, businesses will have to secure additional funds to serve the citizens. According to Mr. Xynaris, a citizen will buy a bottle of water at a price of €0.50 while at the same time he will proceed to withdraw up to €100 from the fund. As he said, essentially the kiosks will replace banks and ATMs, pointing out that this will create multi-speed traders. He also said that it will be difficult for the kiosk owners to implement the measure, adding that businesses that will not be able to meet the new measure will be put in an unfavourable position and there will be unfair competition.
At the same time, the president of NESYPE stressed that "banks are closing branches and laying off staff and indirectly trying to make all of us their unpaid employees". As he said, a service is being promoted for the benefit of the banks. In conclusion, he brought as an example a small shop in the mountainous areas, which daily gave or donated cash of about €600 to the citizens.
On behalf of the Association of Banks, Marios Nikolaou said that the cashback service has been offered abroad for many years. As he said, due to the closure of bank branches, this service enables the consumer to get money from the kiosks and other points of sale. This is, he noted, a voluntary service, both on the part of the merchant and the bank. According to Mr. Nikolaou, the consumer will be able to withdraw up to €100 per day, per business.
A JCC spokesperson said this service offers many benefits to consumers, stressing that the measure has already been implemented for the last two years. Concluding, he underlined that this is a free product, which is applied voluntarily. According to the data published a few days ago "F", from the beginning of the year until the end of May, about 15,000 cashback operations were carried out in various stores, with a total value of €900,000. In addition, 215 stores nationwide use the cashback service and an effort is being made to increase their number and dispersion.
