Since this Monday, the stationers of Maldonado do not accept debit or credit cards for the payment of gasoline refills, after a decision by several stations due, they say, to the high costs of the tariffs that are charged on each payment. This measure, which has now become effective, was managed on more than one occasion by the businessmen, but until this Monday they had never carried out the step.
In this context of negotiation, the senator of the National Party, Jorge Botana, had introduced a bill in December that puts a cap on these tariffsbut it was not treated by putting the agenda of the referendum on the LUC. “We were with the LUC”, said Botana to The Observer.
“I say that the referendum was divine, we toured the entire country, we talked to everyone, but we did not attend to the famine”criticized the senator, who believes that Parliament now must “work hard” to catch up in that regard.
This situation, as explained to The Observer the president of the Maldonado Fuel Vendors (Vecoma), Nicolás Pascaretta, It’s been seven years, and the association wants this fee, which is between 1 and 1.25% plus VAT, to be paid by the customer.
On august and december 2021, Vecoma announced that it was going to go ahead with this same measure, but then he stopped the intention while waiting for a solution that the government had promised him.
In December, Botana went to Maldonado to meet with the stationers to present the project to them. “Cap the debit card fee at 0.4%, and credit at 1.5%”explained the senator, adding that regulated services –such as fuel in this case– would go to this limit immediately, while unregulated services would do so in a staggered manner.
According to Botana, it was this project, together with the understanding that if the measure was taken in December, tourism in Maldonado would be affected, which led Vecoma postpone the idea of only accepting payment in cash.
Pascaretta confirmed that the December meeting did take place, and assured that they gave Botana the opportunity because “he took the trouble to come” to Maldonado, and because “he fell at the right time”close to take the measurement.
At the meeting, the stationers contributed ideas to the project, and both parties they agreed to meet in March. “We didn’t have much luck”lamented the Vecoma leader, and also maintains that it was due to the agenda for the referendum.
Possible solutions
The bill presented on December 14, to which he agreed The Observer, Maintains that the descent to the fixed ceiling would have to be at the latest in 2024. The text consists of two articles, the first that regulates the cap, and the second that imposes that “Businesses may not be charged any other administrative cost for the use of electronic payment methods other than the tariff.”
Pascaretta indicated that the project could solve the conflictbut clarified that “It’s just a project” for what it lacks “a lot” to be able to give a solution, which “they need now”.
The stationers welcome another measure taken by the Banco República (BROU), which implemented a tariff cap of 0.8% if you pay with the TuApp mobile application, developed between the bank and Antel. However, Pascaretta criticized that the application it’s still “green” and “a lot to go”so the bank in your opinion You will have to find a solution to payments with physical cards.
The second vice president of BROU, Max Sapolinski, told The Observer what Antel works to make the application “more accessible”so that the tool can be “popularized” and with it payment with fewer gasoline tariffsregulations that “it is already in force”reported the leader.
“The most expensive in the region”
Snack, like the mayor of Maldonado Enrique Antía, agrees with the view of the stationers, who believe the level of tariffs they must pay is unfair and they should be the ones to pay for it. In addition, he said that the situation for businessmen in this area is aggravated because “we are the most expensive in the region” in the tariff matter of the cards. “In debit only Peru surpasses us, in credit no one”, detailed.
“The market works as a “two-sided market”, insofar as in a card transaction there are consumers and merchants (…) who they need the participation of a third party that provides them with a service through a platform to carry out the transactions“, indicates the explanatory statement of the project.
Add that “the prices charged by purchasers and stamps to businesses” become “relevant” with “the increase in the proportion of sales with electronic means of payment” in recent years, and thatthe commercial sector and in particular small businesses, have been seriously affected by the increase in their costs and changes in daily operations involving card payments”.
