The potential transfer of PagoPA, despite staying under state control, raised concerns within Italy’s banking sector, which is already facing competition in the digital payment market. Under the plan, Poste would retain a majority stake in PagoPA.
However, Poste and the mint are questioning the EUR 500 million price tag pegged by the treasury adviser KPMG, and they obtained access to PagoPA’s financial data for more clarity on its accounts.
Poste is Italy’s national postal service, which expanded to contain various financial and insurance services. It operates Italy’s largest retail banking network, handling payments though PostePay. PagoPa is a state-backed platform that facilitates financial payments for public services, allowing citizens to pay taxes, fines, and utilities through an integrated platform.
PagoPa, which handled payments towards Italy’s public administration worth EUR 33 billion, is expected to play a significant role in the Italian government’s plan to set up a digital wallet through the IO app. The app will enable Italians to store both official documents, such as digital IDs to access public services online, and payments.
Italian financial institutions claim that Poste could utilise PagoPA to strengthen its position in the digital payments market, as they will deal with Apple, PayPal, and Google owner Alphabet. The increased adoption of stablecoins is also a factor of concern for European banks, as it offers users the means to make cross-border payments without the need for a bank account.
To address competition concerns, the government-backed project prevents Poste from signing off on governance agreements that would allow it to exercise a dominant influence over PagoPa, in which the state mint will be the majority shareholder.
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