The PP spokeswoman in the Senate, Alicia García, warned on Thursday that ‘requiring payment by card or other digital means of payment generates inequality, especially for the elderly’ and announced that her group has registered a motion to require the Executive to guarantee the freedom of consumers in the choice of all forms of payment with physical money, as well as cards and digital.

The motion has been registered with the Committee on Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030. The motion proposes, on the one hand, the recognition of the right to choose the method of payment, explicitly guaranteeing it in national legislation, as well as the obligation to accept cash, the promotion of digital inclusion and the alignment with European regulations.

‘From the PP in the Senate we defend consumer protection and it is clear that requiring payment by card or other digital means of payment generates inequality, especially for the elderly and for those living in rural areas, due to the difficult access to connectivity,’ said the PP leader after holding a working meeting with the president of the Denaria Platform, Javier Rupérez, and representatives of the association.

The meeting was also attended by the Group's deputy spokesperson, Inmaculada Hernández, as well as the spokesperson for Consumer Affairs, Carmen Riolobos; the spokesperson for Economy, Alfonso Polanco; and the spokesperson for Digital Transformation, Pablo González.

It was agreed to create a working group to address the problem and propose solutions that ‘ensure financial inclusion’, so that ‘progress in digitisation does not mean a setback in equal opportunities’.

García defended ‘the freedom of consumers’ and pointed out the importance of ‘recognising and guaranteeing the use of physical money, as well as the possibility of payment by card and digital means’.

He warned of the importance of ‘listening to consumers’ demands’ and “ensuring that access to services does not violate their rights or contribute to widening the digital divide”.

Source: La vanguardia, Infobae, Servimedia