The CNIL emphasizes that customers must “be informed by display when they go to checkout» that they can always request the paper printing of the ticket. Michael Nivelet / stock.adobe.com
Initially scheduled for January 1, the entry into force of this provision has been postponed to allow traders to adapt. From now on, stores will favor sending the ticket electronically, except at the express request of the consumer.
End of paper and make way for digital! From April 1, the French will have to get used to receiving their receipt in a dematerialized version. Or to ask to print it if they want to keep these little white pieces of paper. The end of the systematic printing of receipts, included in the anti-waste law for the circular economy (AGEC) of 2020, will come into effect on this date. A change “motivated by the fight against dangerous substances present in receipts and to remedy the significant waste that these receipts represent (30 billion receipts printed each year)“, we explain to the government.
Initially scheduled for January 1, its implementation has been postponed for three months to allow merchants to adapt. The office of the Minister of SMEs and Trade, Olivia Grégoire, also mentioned last December “feedback from distributors and consumer associations indicating that the receipt remains for many French people an important element for checking the prices of products purchased, in the face of inflation».
In detail, cashiers will no longer automatically print customer invoices and will favor sending the digital ticket by e-mail, SMS, or even QR Code, except at the express request of the consumer. The National Commission for Computing and Liberties (CNIL) specifies that customers must “be informed by display when they go to checkout» that they can always request the paper printout. A third choice also opens up to them when going to the checkout: do not ask for a paper receipt or a dematerialized receipt.
Tickets issued by vending machines, bank receipts, promotional and discount tickets, as well as vouchers, will also be affected by this change. On the other hand, the government provides for some exceptions, for which the ticket will continue to be printed automatically. For example, receipts relating to the purchase of so-called “durable” goods (household appliances, computer equipment, etc.), bank card receipts relating to operations canceled or subject to credit, or even receipts emitted by automatawhose conservation and presentation are necessary to benefit from a product or service».
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Risks for personal data?
As consumers have observed in recent months, some brands and stores have already taken the lead, and ask their customers if they want to receive their ticket by e-mail. According to an Opinéa poll for Twilio published this week, around half of consumers (51%) “note the presence of new solutions that offer customers the possibility of receiving their receipts on alternative media to paper format». “There will be an information campaign to warn consumers and training on the application of this measure for cashiers“, we also said on the side of the Ministry of the Economy at the end of last year.
But beyond the training of professionals and the awareness of the French to this new habit at their checkout, certain warnings have already been formulated. In particular with regard to personal data. “The preferred solutions should seek to minimise, as much as possible, the collection of personal data, or even avoid it.“, thus indicates the CNIL, for example via the scan of a QR Code. And in the event of the collection of contact details, their reuse for commercial prospecting is regulated. “The merchant must obtain people’s consent or allow them to object, depending on the type of advertising“, specifies the CNIL.
Some associations also point to the risk of merchant fraud on price differences. “Consumers will have difficulty verifying the total price of their purchases at checkout“, warns Olivier Gayraud, lawyer at the association Consumption Housing Framework of Life (CLCV). Doubts are also expressed for the application of certain rights for the consumer, such as for the legal guarantee of conformity. “How can you make the warranty work without having proof?adds Olivier Gayraud. “A proposal has been made to the government to introduce a measure to print a receipt beyond 25 euros. Unfortunately it was not accepted“, he regrets.
The joint request, in April 2022, of a dozen consumer associations – including UFC-Que Choisir and Familles Rurales -, demanding that the printing of the receipt be “systematically offeredwas also ruled out. “Consumers to mobilize and request the ticket as soon as they feel the need to keep proof», Calls in a post the president of the UFC-Que Choisir Alain Bazot, for whom «the disappearance of the ticket exposes (consumers) to a major setback in their rights : proof of purchase, also making it possible to verify the accuracy of the amount of the transaction, mobilization of legal and commercial guarantees, request for reimbursement in the event of a product recall, or exchange in the event of a problem, etc.» «The measure remains important to accelerate the ecological transition“, we answer the office of Olivia Grégoire.