I digital payments grow in Italy more and more people are choosing to make purchases through these tools. This is what emerges from the second edition of the Digital Payments Monitor of Worldline Merchant Services, a digital payments company.
The study revealed the trend of the Italian cards on a circuit of over 150.000 pos (physical and eCommerce), active in over 80.000 points of sale, for the whole of 2022.
Last year, according to the analysis, the number of transactions made with Italian cards recorded an increase of 6,3% compared to 2021 and even by 20% in 2022 on 2019, the pre-Covid year.
The acceleration in 2022 mainly concerned the months of January and March (+19,4% and 16,9% respectively compared to the same periods of the previous year), while compared to 2019, the growth was stronger in the months of May and November (respectively +31,8% and +25,7%).
“These data demonstrate that the trend recorded in the years of the pandemic to a greater use of virtual money it has been consolidating. The fact is confirmed that people find these innovative means of payment more convenient, faster and safer, and this leads to an increasingly sustained growth of the market”, underlines the Digital Payments Monitor.
Digital payments: the sectors that have recorded the greatest growth
The sector Utility, strongly impacted by the increase in energy prices, reported a very consistent trend in volumes on 2021 (+49,3%), also recording the most lively performance in 2022 compared to 2019 (+194,5%). Therefore, more and more Italians are paying their bills using digital payments.
High volumes also in the sector ofhospitality, with hotels that in 2022 recorded an increase in volumes of 78% compared to 2021 (while there was an increase of 11,9% compared to 2019). Followed by i restaurants: +44,5% compared to 2021 and +14,4% compared to 2019.
The growth of electronic payments was also significant in the public transport and taxis, which recorded +33,8% on volumes in 2021 and +32,5% on 2019.
The regions where digital payments are more widespread
The Digital Payments Monitor also surveyed the trend of digital payments in the Italian regions in terms of volumes. In 2022, the most significant increase in volumes concerned the Valle d'Aosta, which stands out with a +63,1% on 2021 (compared to the negative figure on 2019 -14,6%), followed by theEmilia Romagna, with a +17,7% on 2021 (and +28,9% on 2019) and the Toscana to +10,4% vs 2021 (practically the same percentage of growth vs 2019).
Lombardy and Veneto showed increases at a good pace compared to 2021, recording respectively a growth in volumes of +6,6% and +7,6% (+12,2% and +11,3% on 2019).
In the South, the growth of digital payments stands out Puglia (+4,9% vs 2021 e) and in Basilicata (+7,9% vs 2021). Compared to 2019, the increase was even more marked, with +25,3% in Puglia and +24,3% in Basilicata. On the opposite side, however, the exception was in particular the Sicilia, settling at +0,2% on 2021 against a decrease of 16% compared to 2019.
