Aldi is testing a 12 euro charge just to enter one of its stores

The news was published by the British newspaper The Grocer a month ago, but it is only now that the controversy has gained prominence in continental Europe.

German supermarket chain Aldi has launched a new £10 (around €12) pre-payment system for customers entering its Shop & Go store in Greenwich, London.

Without traditional cash registers, with billing being done automatically, the customer obtains an entry code through the brand's application, being obliged to pay the access fee, which must be reimbursed within 48 hours.

What if you spend less than £10, or if you leave empty-handed? In these cases, warns The Grocer, based on information that has not been denied by Aldi, the customer may have to wait five to seven days to see their money back, with the refund time depending on the card issuer.

This is a pilot project, currently underway at Aldi's Shop & Go in London, which has cameras with Artificial Intelligence technology to monitor consumer behavior, which could be adopted in other markets.

It should be noted that Aldi's management is bicephalous: Aldi Sud (South) controls the brand in southern Germany and in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and China, while Aldi Nord (North) manages the brand's stores in northern Germany and in countries such as Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Spain.

For more than six decades, their companies have operated independently.

Sometime in the 1960s, founders Karl and Theo Albrecht couldn’t agree on whether to introduce a new product into their stores. Theo wanted to start selling cigarette packs, while Karl was against it. It was the disagreement between the Albrecht brothers that led to the North-South split of Aldi.