The French have settled some two million daily bills in a tobacconist, a year and a half after the generalization of this service of collection of public treasuries among tobacconists in the territory, announces their confederation.
This local payment service allows users to pay fines, local public service bills, or taxes of less than 300 euros, in cash or by bank card, with 12,400 approved tobacconists at the end of December 2021 – i.e. around one in two -, in 6,500 municipalities. , says the National Confederation of tobacconists in a report published Monday.
The average amount of transactions recorded is high 84 euros, she says, while 28% of payments relate to taxes, 36% to fines, and as many to local bills (nursery, hospital, canteen, etc.), while this service has been extended to the whole territory, in July 2020.
How to find tobacconists accepting local payment?
And of the 550,000 tax collections made since the launch of the service, nearly 60% have made it possible to pay the audiovisual tax, the other transactions concerning land and housing taxes, further specify the tobacconists.
The user scans the barcode of his bill on a Franaise des jeux terminal, and pays the corresponding amount to the tobacconist – he receives proof of payment once the transaction has been validated.
Very positive balance sheet
For Philippe Coy, president of the Confederation of tobacconists (quoted in a press release), the latter prove to be merchants of local utility, also employees of the State, thanks to this new service.
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For his part, Stéphane Pallez, CEO of la Franaise des jeux, considered the results of this generalization of the local payment service to be very positive, contributing to the simplification of the daily life of users of public services.
Tobacconists have begun to diversify in recent years to offset the steady decline in tobacco sales, of which they have a monopoly and which still represents their main source of income. They make 40 billion euros in sales per year, including 21.8 billion from tobacco products, on which they receive a commission of 8.1%.
But these merchants also make a living from a myriad of other services: sale of games from the Franaise des jeux, taking bets from the PMU, bar and restaurant, sale of newspapers, snacks, vaping products, management of Nickel bank accounts and postal parcels, sale of SNCF tickets…
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