Traditional or Digital? What Payment Instruments We Use

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Published on 22/12/2025

Today we can choose whether to pay in cash or with electronic tools such as cards, bank transfers and apps on our smartphones or smartwatches. Each of us has our own preferences, but overall, which methods do we use most? Banca d'Italia tells us in a report on consumers’ payment habits in our country.

The report is based on data from the latest European Central Bank (ECB) survey on payment habits in euro area countries. In Italy, the ECB interviewed a sample of over 4,000 people between September 2023 and June 2024.

How We Pay

The report shows that:

• in shops we prefer cash: in Italy, six out of ten payments are made with banknotes and coins. When another method is used, cards are the most common choice; smartphones and smartwatches are still less frequent, but they are growing and more popular among younger people. Cash is mainly used for purchases up to €50;
• person-to-person payments are usually in cash, while credit transfers are rare;
• for recurring payments – such as rent, mortgage instalments, bills and subscriptions – direct debit is the most common method; cards are also widely used, especially for subscriptions, and are the second choice for most other expenses, except for rent and mortgages, where credit transfers prevail;
• online we mostly use cards: half of online payments are made this way. More than a quarter, however, are carried out using e-wallets such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Satispay, BancomatPay or PayPal.

We Are Becoming More and More Digital

Looking beyond our borders, the report shows that Italy is among the euro area countries that use cash the most, but less than in the past; electronic payments are increasing and the gap between cash and electronic payments is narrowing. This trend is driven by the rise in online shopping: among non-recurring payments, those made online have grown to a quarter of the total. Cash is more common among older people, those with lower education and those on lower incomes.

Although cash is still the most widely used payment method, Italy is among the euro area countries where people express the strongest preference for other payment tools. In addition, most respondents said they are interested in trying new payment methods, mainly motivated by cost and ease of use.