Italy Cards and Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2029

The analyst’s ‘Italy Cards and Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2029' report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Italian cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including cash, card, credit transfer, direct debits, and cheques during the review-period (2021-25e).

The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2025e-29f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including market shares of issuers and schemes.

The report brings together the analyst’s research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers detailed regulatory policies and recent changes in regulatory structure.

The analyst’s ‘Italy Cards and Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2029' report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Italian cards and payments industry, including:

• Current and forecast values for each market in the Italian cards and payments industry, including debit, credit and charge cards.
• Detailed insights into payment instruments including cash, card, credit transfer, direct debits, and cheques. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.
• Ecommerce market analysis.
• Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Italian cards and payments industry.
• Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit, credit and charge cards.
• Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards.
• The competitive landscape of the Italian cards and payments industry.

Key Highlights

• Contactless payments are increasingly being used for public transport. For instance, in July 2025, the provider of mobility services and solutions Conduent Transportation launched a contactless payment system for Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi; a government agency operating boats on Lakes Maggiore, Garda, and Como in Italy. This system allows passengers to make tap-to-pay payments using contactless cards and digital wallets. On similar note, in May 2024, Rome’s transportation system launched contactless payment services for JCB card holders on its public transportation system. This service offers open-loop transit through partnership between Nexi and JCB. This enables commuters in Rome to make contactless card transactions.
• Nexi is the leading acquirer in Italy. It offers a range of POS terminals, including SmartPOS, SmartPOS - Mini, Mini with printer, and Cashier+ physical POS terminals, as well as SoftPOS, mobile POS, and Cordless POS + mobile POS terminals. To strengthen its presence, in July 2025, Nexi renewed its agreement with Credit Agricole Italia until 2029. This partnership allows Credit Agricole customers to make payments at Nexi POS terminals. As of July 2025, Nexi had over 100,000 POS terminals in Italy. On similar note, in June 2025, Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia ScpA (BAPS) partnered with Nexi to offer payment services to BAPS customers.
• The Italian Government is prioritizing financial literacy. The International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy, conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), indicates that Italy's financial literacy rate is comparatively low among European countries in 2024. To tackle this issue, the Central Bank of Italy, Banca d'Italia, initiated the Financial Education in Schools program in October 2024 which targets students aged from 17 to 19. The objective of the initiative is to promote responsible financial behavior and enhance financial literacy, especially among the youth. These endeavors are expected to boost the number of individuals with bank accounts.

Scope

• Card market size in terms of number of cards, value and volume of transactions in Italy along with detailed card segmentation of debit, credit and charge cards available in the country.
• Market sizing and analysis of major payment instruments including cash, card, credit transfer, direct debits, and cheques.
• Payment market trends and growth for both historical and forecast period
• Competitor analysis with detailed insights into leading card issuers and schemes.
• Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards.
• A detailed snapshot of country's key alternative payment brands.

Reasons to Buy

• Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Italian cards and payments industry and each market within it.
• Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Italian cards and payments industry.
• Assess the competitive dynamics in the Italian cards and payments industry.
• Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Italy.
• Gain insights into key regulations governing the Italian cards and payments industry.