Excesses in bank fees harm society as well as the banks themselves, he said
Achieving the goal of interconnecting the POS with cash registers 2.5 months earlier than the deadline announced by the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis speaking today at the Athens Innovation Forum 2024.
“The businesses that have connected since the beginning of the year until yesterday are more than 407,000. The target set under the Recovery and Resilience Fund for the end of the year was 402,000 and we hit it well ahead of schedule. No one believed it when we started the effort, I remind you of comments of the type “don’t let this thing go ahead in Greece”. And yet, he went ahead. It took pressure and cooperation with the market, and today I am very satisfied that we caught and exceeded the goal”, the minister emphasized. He added that the 4% of businesses that have not complied will face sanctions, starting with the largest businesses because “it is not conceivable to have the consistent ones who respect the law and the “sly ones” who want to be treated as businesses of a different category.” .
Interconnection of POS with cash registers is one of the 5 initiatives of the government for the spread of electronic transactions. Also included are:
-The expansion of POS usage to 35 additional retail branches. “Indicatively, in taxis without the measure being fully implemented yet, electronic transactions in 2024 doubled compared to 2023. The same is happening in many other sectors,” said Mr. Hatzidakis.
-The ban on cash in the purchase and sale of real estate that has already been voted.
– Mandatory electronic invoices from 2025 after the relevant EU approval, which is another step for transparency in transactions and tackling tax evasion.
-The promotion of direct payments through the IRIS system. “Already today there are 3.3 million IVANs connected to IRIS, for a total of 6 million. Therefore, here too we have significant progress thanks to the persistence of the government and the promotion of the benefit that exists for the average user,” noted the minister.
Referring to the government’s planning for the financial sector, Mr. Hatzidakis emphasized that the interventions henceforth move along 3 axes:
First, the further limitation of bad loans in all banks with the aim of falling to the EU average. “The goal will be achieved relatively soon with the expansion of the Heracles program by 1 billion euros. So the bad loans from 7.5% will go to 3-3.5%, which is the European average”, he stressed. At the same time, he noted the reduction of bad loans that have been transferred to servicers, as well as the progress in the extrajudicial mechanism.
Second, the further expansion of electronic transactions. “We are interested in the procurement issue. We are happy that 3 of the 4 systemic banks have revised their policy after the government’s urging. I’m sure the fourth will follow. It is an issue that concerns us. Banks are obviously not charities, but they have to realize that they operate within a society with certain capabilities and that excesses harm them too.”the minister emphasized. He also said that by spring 2025, the use of direct payment systems such as IRIS will be expanded to cover all businesses.
Thirdly, strengthening the liquidity of businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses. According to the data provided by the minister, low-interest loans with a total budget of 12.4 billion euros have already been contracted through the Recovery Fund. To these are added another 4 billion loans which will be mobilized through the various programs of the Hellenic Development Bank.
“You know that there were reactions to all these measures. Woe to anyone who enters politics to do public relations. We have entered politics to take a few steps forward. We have been hearing about tax evasion since we were young, at some point it is time to deal with it the way it has been dealt with in advanced countries. The government does not stop at fiscal seriousness and a pro-investment approach. He is going to face a series of structural problems of the economy and social injustices linked to tax evasion. We will move forward, not with dogmatism, but with determination to modernize the economy and deal with pathologies, in cooperation with the market and adopting best international practices”, concluded Mr. Hatzidakis in his intervention.
