- Skrill, which is owned by the company Paysafe, will give customers in Italy a no-cost payments experience for both incoming and outgoing transactions until early December.
- The move follows the firm’s decision to do the same thing when the last lockdown took place earlier in 2020, and it is understood that small businesses in particular could benefit.
- The firm’s chief executive officer said that the move will help “ease the pressure” posed by the lockdown.
Online money transfers to or from Italy will once again be free during lockdown if customers use Skrill to place the transaction.
The firm, which operates a cross-border payments service called Skrill Money Transfer, said that it will reprise the move – which it did during the lockdown earlier in the year – with immediate effect.
The fee-free service will be in place until 3rd December of this year, when the Italy-wide lockdown rules are set to expire.
The free nature of the service will be applied to both incoming and outgoing transactions.
According to press reports, Skrill, which is owned by the payments service Paysafe, intends for small companies to benefit primarily from the development.
In addition to the headline fee waivers, there will also be some other cost reductions on offer.
Some product strands – in particular, the wallet service and the Quick Checkout service – will also be free for two months.
This will only apply, however, to companies – and they will only receive the benefit if they use the service for the first time before the year is out.
In another move, sellers that begin taking Skrill as a payment option for their customers will also receive a marketing benefit.
They will be told that they can have their firm’s messaging shared with people from all across the globe.
In a statement to the press, a leading figure at Skrill acknowledged the worries that many Italian people had about the impending lockdown.
Lorenzo Pellegrino, who serves as the firm’s chief executive officer, said the moment was significant.
“Italians are bracing themselves for the coming weeks as restrictions begin to tighten across the country. It has never been more important to protect our loved ones and support local businesses,” he said.
Pellegrino, who is himself Italian, expressed his hopes that the move would help both firms and individuals.
“We’re keen to ease the pressure that both businesses and consumers are experiencing at this time and ensure that as many funds as possible are going to the right place,” he said.
Skrill was first set up in 2001, meaning that it is now almost two decades old.
It operates receiving services in more than 40 nations around the world.
As well as allowing people to send cash to other Skrill accounts, it also permits transfers to bank accounts.
Users can also choose to send money to e-wallets.
It’s important to have good information on hand when making cross-border payments decisions during these unprecedented times – to check out our review of Skrill’s mobile app, click here.
