Sassari

4 July 2024

When we pay by clicking online or use our smartphone in a store, we experience first-hand the benefits of the digital transition, the epochal change in society, and the economy and finance brought about by new digital technologies. It's a revolution: new behaviours, new products and services available, new jobs, new opportunities, but also new risks: when we pay online, for example, we need to be wary of fraud. On 4 July, during the Sassari stop of 'On the Road', Banca d'Italia met with local people to discuss all of this at an event entitled 'Digital Transition, Payments and Citizen Protection'.

Digital transition is disrupting the world of banks and industry, the lives of citizens, and the way we pay for things' recalled Alessandra Perrazzelli, Deputy Governor of Banca d’Italia. 'Twenty years ago, we used our phones for making calls and sending a few messages, while today we have small computers that connect us to the world - and expose us to a whole series of risks. But where there are risks, there are also opportunities'.

Among the opportunities created by the digital transition is the emergence of new jobs. 'New technologies can enable new professions', said Antonio Solinas, Director of Research and Development at Abinsula, a Sassari-based company that designs software for businesses. In Silicon Valley, the high-tech industrial area of California that is home to companies like Apple and Google, 'it's said that for every job created in digital innovation, three to nine jobs are created in other fields'. This is not just for those who have studied engineering. 'The professions that involve interdisciplinarity and the use of technologies are often better handled by people other than engineers. Each segment requires specializations'.

However, the risks of the digital transition also include falling victim to fraud when paying online. Fraudsters can steal money or the codes we use to pay online by manipulating us - for example, by posing as bank operators - or using malicious software. How can we protect ourselves? 'The first defence is ourselves', noted Margherita Cartechini from Banca d'Italia, Head of the Consumer Protection Directorate. It is essential to be informed, for instance, about how electronic payment methods work, what the most common frauds are in this field, and what tools we have to protect ourselves. This is also why financial education exists, which 'doesn't need to make us finance experts, but should give us basic knowledge'.

Fraud in electronic payments was the focus of the second event of the stop, entitled 'Beware of Online Scams!', which took place in the Palazzo della Provincia. Francesca Buttazzo (Banca d'Italia), Andrea Tina (Banking and Financial Ombudsman) and Elena Bertorelli (from the consumer association 'Casa del consumatore') explained to the audience the most dangerous scams to watch out for and how we can protect ourselves.