POS caravan in nine cities across Serbia
In November, the national POS Caravan began, where 7,500 small retailers from nine cities across Serbia will have the opportunity to learn about the benefits of cashless payments and apply for subsidies to receive free installation and use of POS terminals for up to one year, with no fixed costs or additional obligations. The Caravan is organized by the Bolji Način Initiative and will visit Belgrade, Novi Sad, Subotica, Sombor, Čačak, Kragujevac, Niš, Leskovac, and Šabac.
- In addition to the free POS terminal, the subsidy for small businesses also includes a reduced merchant fee of 0.99% for all Mastercard and Visa card payments. All retailers are eligible for this, regardless of their business type, location, years in operation, or sales volume, as long as they have not used a POS terminal in the last 12 months. To apply, simply complete a short online form on the boljinacin.rs website, and cashless payments can be made within a month. After the subsidy period ends, small businesses can either discontinue using the POS terminal or continue using it under the terms previously agreed upon with their selected bank, explains Vladimir Bošković, who currently chairs the POS program on behalf of NLB Komercijalna Banka.
The Bolji Način Initiative supports the development of all forms of cashless payments, including card payments, instant payments via IPS QR codes, and online commerce. By introducing cashless payments, retailers open up a whole new range of opportunities.
- According to an Ipsos survey, nearly all businesses (94%) that offer cashless payment options to their customers report that it has positively impacted their operations. The primary motivation for small businesses to accept cards is to avoid turning away customers who prefer to pay that way. Two-thirds of respondents believe it has made their work easier, and almost 60% report achieving significant savings on a monthly basis, says Bošković.
According to the survey, most entrepreneurs believe the most beneficial incentives for adopting cashless payments would be tax incentives (42%), reductions in merchant fees for card payments (40%), and subsidies for POS devices (33%). This is why the Bolji Način Initiative, with the support of the entire financial industry, launched the POS program and secured subsidies for up to 25,000 small shops and online stores across Serbia. So far, more than 5,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs have applied for this subsidy, giving them the opportunity to implement cashless payments for the first time, thus increasing their market share and sales.
All small businesses interested in attending the POS Caravan or expressing interest in a free POS terminal can apply via the Bolji Način Initiative website: www.boljinacin.rs.
The national Bolji Način Initiative for cashless payments is a joint project of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Mastercard, and Visa, carried out under the develoPPP program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in cooperation with NALED and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia.
