Digital payments are growing. There are almost 4 million POS terminals in Italy

THe digital payment,especially with Posis indispensable in trade, tourism and services. In 2024 i Active pos in our country they have reached 3.75 million, with approximately 660 thousand more terminals compared to 2018 (+21%). Growth continued also in 2025, bringing, according to our estimates, the number of POS in Italy to approximately 3.87 million.

This is what emerges from calculations and analyzes conducted by Confessors on official data. Italy is therefore among the most advanced countries in Europe in terms of electronic payments: in the same period, active POSs amounted to just over 3.2 million in France and 1.5 million in Germany. Together with the POS, the digital payments at i physical stores in Italy – trade, public businesses, tourist activities and services – which in 2025 should reach 376 billion euros.

Goodbye cash, but not completely

The businesses they therefore chose to invest in modernizationalso by logic of service: i cash are still favored by Italians, but the appreciation for the digital payments it is on the rise. And i points of sale they respond by expanding the range of accepted toolsalongside cash, cards and advanced digital tools.

In fact, the offer of solutions is also growing Buy Now Pay Later: it is estimated that today in Italy between 40 and 50 thousand businesses make them available to customers. Given an understandable attention to the topic, the fraud they remain very contained; furthermore, most occur “remotely”, not in point-of-sale payments. At the same time, the theme of cost sustainability for the merchants: the electronic transactions they can cost up to 22% more, in unit terms, compared to those in cash. A burdensome differential especially on the microtransactionswhich are a significant portion of daily sales for many public establishments and others proximity activities. Furthermore, they weigh additional costs – hardware, fees, etc. – which raise the total expense of the merchants: for a business with 300 thousand euros of transactions, the electronic moneyAccording to our estimates, it can cost between 5 and 6 thousand euros a year.

Confesercenti’s comment

The image of Italian companies as ‘anti-cashless’ must be archived, as well as the demonization of cash: the evidence of the data shows that the businesses they do not oppose each other payment instrumentsbut they integrate them to give freedom of choice to customers. What should not be archived, however, is the theme of costs for operatorsespecially in the microtransactions“, comments Nico Gronchi, president of Confessors. “A problem that is particularly felt by bars, tobacconists and local businesses, where they work on limited receipts and reduced margins. digital transition it is a fact and must be accompanied, but conditions are needed sustainable and transparent along the entire supply chain, even more so as Europe acceleratesdigital euro: l’innovation must simplify the lives of citizens and businessesdo not increase i costs of those who guarantee every day essential services on the territories”, he concludes.