04 Oct DIGITAL PAYMENTS: AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO FIGHT TAX EVASION

Tackling tax fraud has come to the forefront of European politics over the past few years, and so has the fight against shadow economy:  a problem which requires a joint commitment effort to facilitate better co-operation between Member States.

Money traceability represents a way of addressing the issue.

To this purpose a series of new norms have been introduced to promote the uptake of e-invoicing across the European Union. Many public sector organizations –  including Sweden, Norway, Spain and Denmark – have announced compulsory e-invoicing programmes.

Italy, too, has embarked upon a path of new reforms and has gone even further by making e-invoicing mandatory for any B2B or B2C transaction as of 1 January 2019. The initiative has shown positive results, even exceeding expectations: in just over six months from its implementation, e-invoicing generated €350 million per month increase in VAT revenue which could translate into plus 4 billion euros by the end of the year. [1]

Discouraging cash use and promoting traceable payments has also become a priority in the current Italian context, where the Government wants to accellerate the fight against tax evasion. In particular, boosting electronic payments represents one step forward in the promotion of payments traceability.

Secure transactions for trusted digital payments

Leveraging e-payments requires a mentality shift and a change of habits, which may find support in the new security criteria coming from the PSD2 payment services directive, the new European regulation for payment processes in the EU.

Currently a hot topic, Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), also known as two-factor authentication (2FA), has become mandatory for EU electronic payments and represents a valuable and effective tool to protect users’ data and, therefore, make transactions more secure.

The additional level of security offered today may help boosting the use of e-payment methods. Building greater trust in the Internet/mobile channels may significantly contribute to the cultural shift needed to promote traceable payments.

MyBank for traceable, fast and secure payments

MyBank, pan-European e-payment solution fully in line with the security criteria required by PSD2 and a pioneer in the adoption of SCA to protect users’ data, is a valuable aid for payment traceability.

It consists in an online wire transfer with no amount limit, which does not require any new registrations or new passwords, and does not share users’ data with any third parties. MyBank payments takes place in the secure digital environment of the user’s own home banking.

The great advantage of using MyBank is to benefit from the highest security standards in combination with a easiness of use able to motivate even the most sceptical users: payments are completed in just a few clicks and immediate confirmation of the transaction is received.

It is indeed with the combination of security and easiness of use that consumers and business can come closer to e-payments.

Conclusions

The fight against tax evasion, underground economy and money laundering can find in digital payments a valuable ally.

Payments’ traceability is not the only benefit of MyBank: thanks to its easiness of use and its level of reliability, e-payments become a frictionless experience to the benefit of all parties involved, contributing to the European path towards cash-less.

[1] https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/lotta-all-evasione-fattura-elettronica-spinge-gettito-extra-4-miliardi-2019-AC8FExW