End of the paper receipt on April 1: the seven questions that arise – France

Why remove the automatic printing of receipts?

Just like the elimination of single-use plastic products or the introduction of a repairability index on electronic products, the “death” of the printed receipt stems from the anti-waste law for a circular economy, known as the Agec law. , enacted in February 2020. Some 33 billion tickets are printed each year, according to the government. Scraps of paper that quickly end up in the trash, with no real possibility of recycling. “For a hypermarket, this represents 10,600 rolls per year, i.e., unrolled, the distance between Paris and Montpellier. For a bakery, it is 6 km per year and for a tobacconist, 30 km”, illustrated, in 2019, the deputy Patricia Mirallès, at the origin of the bill. The measure finds another justification in the presence of bisphenols F and S – endocrine disruptors – contained in the thermal paper of receipts, she added.

What will be the rule at the cash desk on April 1?

In a few days, when you do your shopping, no physical ticket will come out at your checkout, and no one will ask you if you want a printed ticket. If this is the case, it will be up to you to expressly request it.

To do your accounts or keep track of your transactions, you can, however, receive your dematerialized summary of purchases: by SMS, by e-mail, in your banking app or by scanning a QR code (as to access the menu in a restaurant), depending on the solutions offered by the merchant. You will also have the choice to simply give up viewing your bill.

What purchases are affected?

There will no longer be a printed ticket in sales areas and establishments open to the public (company restaurants, for example). No more tickets issued, either, by machines, including ATMs. Also finished, the spitting, at the checkout, of vouchers and other reduction vouchers. Which, by the way, supposes, in order to benefit from future discounts, that you agree to receive your dematerialized tickets, or even that you join the brand’s loyalty program…

Which are not?

Any purchase of household appliances, computer equipment or mobile telephones will systematically be accompanied, as today, by a ticket issued in paper format as proof for the duration of the guarantee. Exceptions will also apply to banking transactions and those carried out on credit (self-service at the petrol station, for example), as well as to the tickets from the vending machines that you would have to present to benefit from a product or a service (exiting a paying car park, picking up a gift at reception). Nominative invoices are also not affected by the end of printing.

Is a dematerialized ticket more ecological than a printed ticket?

Green IT experts have calculated that a dematerialized ticket consumes two centilitres of water less than a printed ticket. But, the other side of the coin, it would release two more grams of CO2 (5 g against 3 g) into the atmosphere. Its transmission by e-mail (15,000 km covered, according to Ademe) and its storage in a data center are indeed costly in terms of energy, not to mention the abiotic resources (metals) which are used in the construction of routers, servers, reception computers and smartphones. In the absence, for the time being, of an expiry date for receipts so as not to store them unnecessarily, the consumer will therefore have to ensure that they regularly delete their emails and SMS so as not to increase their carbon footprint too much.

What are the risks regarding my personal data?

The Cnil (National Commission for Computing and Liberties) invites to favor dematerialization solutions which require the collection of as little personal data as possible. The temptation for brands to reuse customer contact details to flood them with advertisements is not a wishful thinking. The independent authority also recalls the obligation for merchants to base the processing of data on the informed consent of individuals. They are free to refuse to send the dematerialized ticket.

What are the other reservations expressed by consumer associations?

If the customer refuses the sending by email or SMS and if he does not claim his printed ticket, he will have no way of verifying that there has been no cash error or that a promotional discount has not been applied. In the absence of proof of purchase, he will not be able to avail himself of the legal and commercial guarantees, proceed to an exchange or be reimbursed, in the event of a product recall. Arguments to which the UFC-Que Choisir, the CLCV and ten other associations added, in this period of inflation, the interest of the receipt as a “tool for managing the family budget”. They asked that beyond 25 euros of purchase, the paper printing remains the rule. For her part, Patricia Mirallès initially only considered its abolition for small expenses, less than ten euros. In the end, the legislator did not set a threshold. It is therefore indeed a small revolution that consumers will experience, on April 1st. And it’s not a fish.