In a statement, the executive led by the Fernando Medina indicates that the measure results from the creation of an app of CTT for local commerce, under the “Lisboa Protege” Program, budgeted at 90 million Euros.
“With the use of CTT's new app for local commerce - CTT Comércio Local - developed to provide the digitalization of the sector during this still indefinite period of pandemic, local producers and small traders, who traditionally only have physical commercial activity, now have access to an electronic platform where they can sell their products, as well as a simple solution to get them to final consumers”, said the municipality.
According to the councilman for Economy and Innovation, Miguel Gaspar, cited in the statement, the partnership will allow “helping the city's commercial fabric and increasing its resilience to the crisis”, creating “a new channel for customers to continue shopping in your favorite stores, and receive your purchases safely at home”.
“Lisboa Protege is a program created by the Lisbon City Council to support companies, families and the social and cultural sectors. There are 90 million Euros of investment from the municipality to lessen the impact of the pandemic on the economy and employment and thus prepare the future of the city”, explained the mayor.
In turn, the administrator of CTT, João Sousa, guaranteed that the new app to help local commerce has the mission “to support the digital transition of companies and producers that would otherwise have difficulty accessing an online platform for selling your products”.
Using a mobile phone and location, consumers will be able to “see which merchants and producers in the region are present in the app, make purchases and pay via MB Way, credit card or debit card”.
Great idea but why a decade or more late?
Also this is allegedly the European Union - so can foreign traders take part or will it be like OLX which, notoriously, accepts EU foreigners adverts then, on being denounced by an army of local snouts, secretly deletes non-Portuguese ones.
Lastly - is there any way to blacklist fraudsters who take money for goods and services that are substandard, not as described or never delivered? Rapidly de-listing a bad actor rather than wait for Portugal's sclerotic justice system to take years to decide, if at all, that it was a only a 'misunderstanding'.
By Sybil Wright from USA on 10 Mar 2021, 07:38