Starting In December, All Businesses Must Accept Plastic
The law that goes into effect in December requires any individual or legal entity that offers services to the public to also payment by credit or debit card, as well as any other electronic mechanism, in addition to cash.
The Law Against Fiscal Fraud (Ley Contra el Fraude Fiscal) established two years ago, in December 2016, that at the end of 24 months (December 2018) any individual or business that offers services to the public must also accept payment in plastic.
The El Financiero reports that despite in a few months begins the obligation to accept payments by credit or debit card, as well as any other electronic mechanism, in addition to cash, businesses seem to be far from complying with the measure.
The change will affect any business for profit, either on physical or legal, that only accepts payment in cash.
This means that pulperias (corner grocery stores), hotels, restaurants, that often prefer doing business in cash, must obtain a card processing account and the respective equipment to process cashless payment.
The law dictates is that in order for a means of payment to be considered as an alternative to cash, there must be a financial institution in between the business and the consumer, allowing the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda) more control over the transactions.
“Electronic payment has proven its effectiveness to achieve traceability and reduce tax fraud and it was for that reason that compulsory acceptance of payment by credit or debit card was made,” said Maria Isabel Cortés, Executive Director of the Banking Association Costa Rican (ABC).
By Rico
Costa Rica
19 August 2018
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