Finance are so digitized that e.g. In the Nordic purchase countries, no cash is required. It’s enough to have a canvas card or a smart cell phone to pay for something.
Nordic countries are just on their way to achieving the future without cash while many economic entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not yet offered by the possibility of card payment.
When we wrote about this problem last year, the director of the Employers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mario Nenadić is as a reason that this thus pointed out the insufficient information of economic entities and that they are enabling them to make card pays a large business cost.
For Jasmina Marić, the President of the Association for the ECOMM Trade, the absence of card payments in many domestic companies is not only a matter of comfort for consumers, but also a powerful indicator of structural problems that reduce the transparency and competitiveness of the economy.
According to him, the analysis of the reasons for the introduction of a non-cash payment, with a focus on high fees and commissions, is revealed why it is extremely slow digitization, which he reminded that he was key to the fight against the gray economy.
Cache is still king
Namely, as he pointed out in a conversation for Klix.ba, a number of small, but also medium firms why they do not allow forcastible payment, most often answers that the reason for this is a combination of high cost perception and administrative hassle.
“The main reason for what remains a large number of economic entities does not provide card payment, ie. Payment of the terminals, is a high-length service, the commission that the bank for each transaction is a large load on the already modest margin,” he assessed.
In addition to the mentioned costs, as he pointed out, no factor of the gray economy must be neglected. Cash transactions mentioned, far less transparent and create space to avoid fiscalization and a real traffic show. Although this is for condemnation, as it rated, high fees for POS terminals indirectly stimulate cash retention as a primary payment.
A lot of obstacles and price gap
Maric pointed out that high-commission problems do not stop only on physical terminals. Digitization of online trade, which is crucial for the development of e-commerce, also suffers because of these obstacles.
“If you look at the online store, you will see that it is a huge part of traffic. This is a direct consequence of mistrust, but also the marketing of online card transactions, our traders are forced to pay high banking benefits, but also Logistical costs for cash processing, “he emphasized.
He believes that the central problem of digitization in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the prices of the use of POS terminals, which, as stated, in significant disproportion in relation to the countries of the environment and the European Union.
Namely, as he pointed out, the Card payment commissions in Bosnia and Herzegovina are often in the range of 1.5 to as much as 3.5 percent per transaction, with additional fixed monthly fees. The comparisons works, in most EU countries, regulations are limited to 0.3 percent for interchange fees for credit and 0.2 percent for debit cards.
“The key question is how many companies pay for the use of terminals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and how much in the region, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as Serbia, is significantly higher. This operates in the global market.
Why are the prices in BiH “pepper”
He set aside several reasons why the commission was mentioned – a small market, lack of strong competition and the lack of modern regulations. However, as reminded, the costs of banking banks, which are potentially transferred to the economy, is influenced by uncertainty about tax liabilities.
“Why are the prices in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the use of the terminal as they are? The lack of clear and modern regulations is key, but the situation is further complicated and the dispute for indirect taxation (UIO)”, emphasized the Klix.ba.
In 2023, he pointed out, the first time banks calculated VAT on transactions through payment cards, resulting in payments of 43 million KM, and the total dispute over the collection of VAT is almost 100 million KM. Banks challenge this obligation to the obligation before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, claiming that it is unfounded.
“This situation creates legal uncertainty and the risk of the banking sector. The potential additional cost of VAT on transactions would, logically, to further increase the POS terminals and online payments, and banks and the economies remain in uncertainty,” he warned.
Regulation as a shield
Marić is of the opinion that the lack of a large number of firms to provide card payment is not the primary matter of technological backlog, but economic calculations and bad regulations. As long as fees for the use of POS terminals and online payments in Bosnia and Herzegovina are multiple higher than in the EU, small and medium businesses will, as he stated, to consider “cheaper” option.
This is a practice that has serious implications per bh. economy. It maintains a high level of gray economy, reduces the transparency of money flows, slows down modernization and makes domestic companies less competitive.
In order for this trend to reverse, Marić called on an emergency regulatory action, and the adoption of the Law on Pay Services (aligned with the EU Directive PSD2) and by the dismissal of the IRE dispute.
Only by reducing the cost of card payment on, as he concluded in a conversation for Klix.baa reasonable level and providing legal certainty, the domestic business will receive an incentive to come out of the “cache” zone, which is the only way to greater transparency, fiscal discipline and true digitization of BH. Markets.
