The report, Payments Landscape in Portugal: Opportunities and Risks to 2022, reveals that the share of cash in total payment volume decreased from 57.6% in 2014 to 52.0% in 2018 and is expected to drop further to 48.4% by 2022.
The introduction of SCT Inst in Portugal in September 2018 was a positive move in this direction. To reduce the dependence on cash and promote electronic payments, the government capped the amount of cash per transaction for residents and non-residents to EUR 3,000 (USD 3,436.64) and EUR 10,000 (USD 11,455.48), respectively in August 2017. The government also mandated income tax payments over EUR 1,000 (USD 1,145.55) to be made through bank transfer, cheque or direct debit.
Moreover, the central bank, Banco de Portugal, had enacted a regulation enabling the financial institutions in the country to allow their customers to open bank accounts online. With this, several banks such as Novo Banco, Millennium BCP, and Santander allowed consumers to open bank accounts through digital channels.
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