�The culture of cash is strongly ingrained in Italians, even those that don�t evade,� Deputy Finance Minister Vittorio Grilli said at a Dec. 5 press conference in Rome. The government initially wanted to set a 300-euro or 500-euro cash limit but decided against it, Grilli said, reasoning that citizens needed time to adapt to new rules.
Italian banks, which charge businesses up to 2 percent for credit-card transactions, could end up being the main beneficiaries of the new rules, according to Rome-based consumer group Adusbef. �Unless banks cut fees on credit cards and current accounts, they�ll just make more money from the new law,� said Mauro Novelli, the general secretary of the organization, which represents banking and insurance customers.
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The Middlemen
The new way to make money is to have the government mandate that you get 2% of every transaction.