What is the most used payment method in Italy?
At the counter, cash still leads, with 61% of point-of-sale transactions in 2024. By value, though, digital payments now dominate: they reached €518 billion in 2025 and covered 45% of household consumption. Cards, mostly BANCOMAT co-badged debit cards, are the main cashless method.
In detail
It depends on how you count. At the counter, cash still leads: it settled 61% of point-of-sale transactions in 2024 in the ECB survey, down from 69% in 2022 and above the 52% euro area average. Cash is strongest for purchases under €50 and payments between people.
By value, digital wins
Digital payments reached €518 billion in 2025, up 7% in a year, and covered 45% of household consumption against 38% for cash. Cards are the main cashless method. Most Italian debit cards carry the domestic BANCOMAT brand, co-badged with Visa or Mastercard, and prepaid cards such as Postepay play a larger role than in most of Europe. Italians made about 12.4 billion card payments in 2025.
Phones are catching up
About 14 million Italians paid with a phone or smartwatch in 2025, and contactless is now the default at the till.
What it means for payment operators
For operators serving Italian merchants, the priority is card acceptance that routes domestic debit correctly, contactless in stores, and local wallets online. Keeping a cash-friendly option such as cash on delivery still matters for older or less banked customers.