An Overview of Italy’s Payment Landscape
Italy is Europe’s fourth-largest e-commerce market with steady annual growth of 5.33% projected through 2030. Success in Italy means managing operational complexity that requires market-specific investment.
Strong e-commerce adoption hasn’t eliminated traditional payment preferences. According to the European Central Bank’s consumer survey, 55% of euro area consumers prefer cards over cash in shops, with 22% preferring cash and 23% having no clear preference.
Italy maintains higher cash usage than this average despite digital growth.
Italy’s debit-first consumer mindset shapes payment processing economics, credit product opportunities, and buy-now-pay-later strategies differently than credit-dominant markets.
With approximately 25% of Italian online users utilising prepaid cards, payment systems must accommodate this distinct consumer behaviour rather than assuming digital-first adoption models work universally.
A high level of cross-border activity in Italy requires IOSS registration for goods under €150 and robust logistics partnerships. Italian consumers expect complete cross-border capabilities from established and new entrants alike.
How Italian Customers Pay Online
Italian online payment preferences follow a hybrid structure that differs significantly from Northern European markets. Understanding these preferences helps you prioritise infrastructure investments and capture the largest market share.
Core payment method categories drive market coverage:
Combined, these three core categories cover approximately 66-68% of payment method preferences.
Prepaid cards are particularly popular in Italy, making PostePay integration a market credibility signal rather than optional feature. Italian consumers recognise PostePay as evidence of local market commitment.
For high-ticket purchases, BNPL offers instalment flexibility.
Device and Checkout Preferences
Mobile devices and desktop computers each account for a significant share of e-commerce transactions in Italy, with recent data showing mobile slightly behind desktop.
Desktop: 50%
Mobile: 49%
Mobile payments in Italy continue to grow, with steady adoption and increasing popularity in recent years. Forrester’s digital banking research confirms that Italian customers shift to mobile apps to manage finances.
Checkout optimisation priorities differ from assumptions based on other European markets. According to the IPC Cross-border E-commerce Shopper Survey, Italian consumers prioritise specific conversion elements:
These are the top conversion priorities for Italian consumers:
- Clear pre-purchase delivery charge information — display exact delivery costs before checkout initiation
- Simple and reliable returns processes — provide return policy documentation in Italian with transparent return shipping costs
- Free delivery thresholds attract consumers, with trust in delivery companies mattering to the majority of them
- Real-time delivery tracking meets 90% consumer engagement with parcel notifications
Forrester’s Europe-5 forecast projects that two-thirds of e-commerce growth through 2029 will come from increased spending per buyer rather than new customer acquisition. This makes checkout optimisation more important than audience expansion for capturing Italian market opportunity.
In-Store Payment Preferences
According to the European Central Bank’s SPACE 2024 survey, 55% of euro area consumers prefer cards and non-cash means in shops, 22% prefer cash, and 23% have no clear preference.
However, Italy maintains higher cash usage than the euro area average, with 52% of point-of-sale transactions still using cash.
Contactless card payments increased 15.5% year-over-year across the euro area, reaching 29.5 billion transactions. Card payments account for 57% of all non-cash payments.
Merchant infrastructure presents an interesting contradiction. According to Edgar, Dunn & Company’s analysis, Italy has high POS terminal penetration, especially among SMEs. However, many merchants still prefer cash payments, perceiving cash as cheaper than cards.
In contrast, European merchants prefer cards at 77%, with 71% of European consumers sharing this preference.
Your POS strategy should accommodate contactless payment expectations given the 15.5% year-over-year growth in contactless card payments.
Italian Market Considerations
Italy demonstrates market characteristics every merchant should note.
Age-related resistance to digital payments exceeds typical European patterns. The ECB documents dramatic age-based adoption differences:
- Ages 35-49 show 17.8 percentage points lower smart payment preference than ages 18-34
- Ages 50-64 show 40.4 percentage points lower preference
- Ages 65+ demonstrate 64.5 percentage points lower adoption
This creates dual market requirements. Your under-35 strategy can deploy mobile-first approaches with digital wallets and PostePay integration. Over-50 demographics require traditional payment infrastructure including cash handling and non-smartphone options. Single-approach strategies fail to capture both age groups.
With a high percentage of Italian consumers (66%) purchasing from international merchants, market entry cannot follow ‘test and learn’ approaches with minimal logistics investment. You must deploy complete cross-border capabilities from launch to compete with established cross-border sellers already serving Italian consumers.
Payment Considerations for Italian Market Expansion
Based on the above data, here are strategies your business must consider when operating in Italy.
Offer Essential Payment Methods
B2C market entry in Italy requires a robust payment portfolio covering the most popular consumer payment preferences. The evidence-based foundation consists of:
- Credit and debit card acceptance through Visa and Mastercard acquirers
- eWallets (PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay) to address dominant digital wallet preferences
- PostePay support for Italian prepaid card users
- Mobile-optimised checkout experiences
Vertical-specific requirements include BNPL for fashion, consumer electronics, and furniture categories.
B2B market entry demands seven core components for a competitive baseline:
- Corporate card acceptance and bank transfer capabilities for standard procurement expectations
- Credit terms automation for NET 30/60/90 cycles
- Late payment management systems (in lieu of the top challenge for 46% of Italian B2B businesses)
- Creditworthiness assessment tools
- Accounting system API integration for general ledger and accounts payable/receivable automation
- Multi-currency support given high levels of cross-border activity
Follow Localisation Requirements
Comprehensive Italian language support is a fundamental requirement. With a large majority of Italians shopping cross-border, localisation becomes critical for competing against domestic sellers who inherently provide local market familiarity.
According to the IPC Cross-border E-commerce Shopper Survey, Italian consumers prioritise clear delivery charge information (62%) and simple returns processes (60%). International merchants must demonstrate market commitment through proper localisation to meet these expectations.
Currency and pricing transparency requires euro display with all taxes included in stated prices. IOSS registration for goods under €150 helps address customs duty concerns, which are a key purchasing factor for many EU consumers.
Delivery transparency is an important factor influencing conversion rates. Displaying exact delivery costs before checkout, providing upfront customs information for cross-border purchases, and implementing real-time delivery tracking capabilities are best practices that build trust and reduce cart abandonment.