This may have happened to you while shopping during confinement, or even more recently: you want to pay in cash but the merchant refuses on the grounds that he only takes the bank card or contactless payments, to limit the risk of Coronavirus contamination. Well know that it is illegal. The Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and the Suppression of Fraud (DGCCRF), which has been seized, takes the subject very seriously.
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A history of lobbying?
In this matter, there is an absolute rule: cash is the only type of payment that traders are forced to accept. In case of refusal, it is 150 euros fine, coronavirus or not. Except that some, small traders as large brands, do not play the game by accepting only the bank card for allegedly health reasons. "Letting believe that paying with a bank card is less dangerous than with cash is a lie", denounces François Daoust, general delegate of the Federation of Fiduciary Security Companies (Fedesfi). "The use of banknotes does not present any particular risk of infection", confirms the Banque de France, contacted by Europe 1.
According to Fedesfi, which has just contacted the DGCCRF, the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires circulated false information to merchants to encourage them to accept only the CB. "It is still and always the war between cash and bank card. But there, they take advantage of the health context to make unfair competition", laments François Daoust. Hence the referral to the repression of fraud. Bercy "takes the subject very seriously" and threatens: "The penal code is very clear."
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"In addition, it makes no sense," insists François Daoust. "In a store, everyone touches the products. Then the cashier scans them and gives them back to you. There is much more risk of contamination by the products than during payment. We are focusing on a false problem", he.
The faulty signs are almost all put away
We have contacted companies accused by customers, on social networks, of refusing cash payments. Castorama argues a "communication error" during the deconfinement with a too vague logo displayed in front of the stores. But the group said that the situation is resolved and ensures that all types of payments are accepted. Same thing at Bricomarché. In this franchise of DIY stores, which belongs to the Musketeers, each store is independent but "the national order is to accept cash everywhere", we are told.
Among the big brands, only Burger King seems to maintain the exclusion of cash: "payment by bank card or contactless only", it is written on the website of the fast-food chain. Contacted by Europe 1, the brand maintains its line: "If the respect for the safety of our team members and our customers requires it, we may have to refuse payment in cash. As soon as the health context allows, we will resume as before systematically accepting cash. "
A stubbornness that the Defender of Rights and the Bank of France will hardly taste. From the beginning of May, they warned traders: refusing cash is not only illegal but also discriminates against the most vulnerable populations who sometimes have no other means of payment.