Pascaretta explained that this measure is part of a “fight from seven years ago” in which sellers look for “the financial cost”a tariff of between 1% and 1.25% plus VAT on each purchase of gasoline that is charged to the stations for each card payment, “pay the customer” “It is a service, there is no reason for us to pay the fee”, questioned. The president of Vecoma clarified that you can pay with Card Dbecause it is the only one that does not bear these tariffs when paying for a fuel refill.
This Saturday, andhe mayor of Maldonado Enrique Antía showed his empathy with the claim of the stationers of his department. “What happens is that the guys work all day, they break to work and the owner of the card takes almost the same as they do, so I agree with the stationers that the participation of the cards and the percentage of collection on the issue of fuel because if we do not pay all Uruguayans, “said the community chief in the framework of the Campus Party tour, reported El País.
An executive branch source told The Observer whoThe claim of the Maldonado stationers is “acceptable to a certain extent”, but he considered that the decision to cut directly with the cards is an “exaggerated and extreme measure”. The President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, requested the intervention of the BROU to find a solution to this dispute that the stationers have for the fees that the banks charge for using their plastics. A BROU source told The Observer that the bank is going to try to find “some rapprochement” but considered that it would be “timely” for private banks to also join in seeking a global solution to the dispute.
The average fee for debit cards is 1.10% of the purchase, and for credit cards, 1.25%. With TuApp (BROU’s electronic wallet) the fee charged for payment will be 0.80%, which is “considerably lower,” Pascaretta explained to El País.
Super gas can fold
“We received the call from Martin Machado, president of Adisup, the Association of Supergas Distributors of Uruguay. Same problems with cards and tariffs. On Monday, they are analyzing to comply with the measure of not accepting cards,” Pascaretta wrote on his Twitter account.
Is the parking measure legal?
In the Executive Branch they have “doubts” about the legality of the measure announced by Vecoma. This is because there is a regulatory decree of the Financial Incursion Law that established some limitations for the use of cash at service stations in certain time slots. Since April 2017, it has been established that in the time slots between 6 and 8, and between 8 and 10 p.m., the payment of fuel with cash was admitted in dispatches with a limit of up to $800. was established the Ban on the use of cash at night (between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.) except for mini-markets that have authorized a maximum sale of up to $500 in cash.
On the other hand, heVecoma’s determination could also be the target of some questioning within the framework of the operation of the Law for the Promotion and Defense of Competitionto the extent that the action of the Maldonado stationers (of not accepting cards from this Monday) is done in a coordinated manner and not individually.
The Association of Bank Employees of Uruguay (AEBU) questioned the decision of the Maldonado stationers since it considers that this measure affects tourism, the economy and the safety of the personnel who work in these businesses. “It goes against international trends, the provision of modern and quality services to its customers, and even the orientation of the State itself that imposes its use in tolls throughout the country,” he said in a statement.
“This decision is absolutely limiting the freedom of consumers, and its negative consequences will be much more severe if it spreads to the rest of the country or to other areas of economic activity,” AEBU warned.
