2020 marked the contraction of the payments market in Italy, amounting to € 245.8 billion (-8.8% compared to € 269.6 billion in 2019). The analysis released by Mediobanca reports it.
Among the sectors, traditional retail stands out, which represents 73% of the total with € 180.5 billion but which has been contracting since 2018 with an average annual rate of -6.7%. In contrast to the trend, digital payments which instead grew with an average rate of + 7.1% in 2018-2020, thus touching the total value of 40 billion euros in 2020, of which € 35.5 billion relating to prepaid instruments (currency electronics).
In total, at the end of 2020 the stock of electronic money in circulation in Italy was € 11.4 billion (+ 28.1% on 2019). If the digital payments sector grows, on the other hand, the share of cash on transactions in Italy remains high (in 2019 equal to 58% in value and 83% in volume), higher than the European average (respectively 48% and 73%).
All this despite the false myth of a greater cost of electronic payments compared to cash, which instead conceal latent costs, linked to production, transport and management, which the Bank of Italy quantifies at € 7.4 billion per year (0.45 % of GDP) and which affect the company’s profitability and the competitiveness of our country.