Treasury functions and tools

Since the late 1990s, State treasury services have evolved steadily towards the digitalization of information and the adoption of electronic payments thanks to significant regulatory and technological changes. Over 99 per cent of payment transactions are now carried out electronically.

This process has been underpinned by the interlinkage between the Public Connection System and the National Interbank Network, as envisaged by the Computerized General Government Payment System (Sistema informatizzato della Pubblica Amministrazione, SIPA), and by the promotion of electronic payment instruments, with the adoption of bank transfers as an ordinary payment instrument.

The evolution of the SIPA has gone hand in hand with full compliance with Single European Payments Area (SEPA) standards.

The large number of players involved in collections and payments is a source of complexity, making it necessary to extend the use of ICT to every step of treasury processes over the years.

The main payment procedures developed over the last two decades cover both payments of central government departments and their local units (including salaries, wages and pensions) and cashier services for third parties (INPS and tax offices) under ad hoc agreements.

As regards the collection of taxes and social contributions, the key milestones were two applications to aggregate payment orders from banks, tax collection agencies, and Poste Italiane SpA - i.e. the single tax payment proxy ('delega unica') and the public entities F24 form - and the treasury credit transfer service.

Since 2010, relationships with bank treasuries as part of local government single treasury system management have also been handled electronically, resulting in streamlined operations and prompter reports on fund movements, with a positive impact on the projections of the public sector borrowing requirement.

For more details on the procedures for State treasury collections and payments, see 'Services for the public'.

The Bank of Italy (the Bank) is required, under laws, regulations and technical operating agreements, to report on payments and collections on behalf of the State and other public entities and on the accounting transactions made as part of treasury services.

Following the all-round digitalization of treasury services, data are now transmitted mainly by legally valid electronic means governed by memorandums of understanding between the parties and transmitted through the Public Connection System (to which nearly all general government bodies are linked) and the National Interbank Network. Electronic reporting allows for fast, accurate and legible information flows; it improves payment management and allocation decisions by strengthening controls by general government entities and by the bodies charged with oversight duties.

The Bank also reports on fund movements on the Treasury single account in summary form. In addition to periodically disclosing the results of its operations, it is required to provide the Court of Auditors with a judicial account of its operations, in its capacity as the State's accounting agent. In the performance of its treasury duties, the Bank has in fact an associated accounting liability in accordance with applicable regulations.

In cooperation with the State General Accounting Department and the Court of Auditors, the Bank is working to re-engineer treasury services, with a view to streamlining procedures in keeping with the changes in payment systems and instruments. As part of this process, Decree Law 73/2022, as converted by Law 122/2022, has paved the way for a full overhaul of State Treasury's collection and payment procedures, bringing the regulatory framework into line with the process innovations contained in the re-engineering project. The new provisions have already resulted in a comprehensive reform of the treasury services provided by the Bank on behalf of central government, with local and central treasury functions being merged into a single entity that manages all collections and payments: the Treasury Service.