The Bank of Italy published payment system statistics showing that cashless transaction numbers almost doubled between 2022 and the second quarter of 2026, driven largely by growth in card payments. Digital channels also dominated credit transfers, while open banking activity increased. Cash withdrawals remained below levels recorded before the pandemic. Debit cards accounted for 71.9% of card transactions at physical points of sale in the second quarter of 2026. In the first half of 2026, contactless payments represented 93% of payments at point of sale terminals, while mobile devices accounted for 30% of transactions at physical points of sale. Credit transfers, the second most widely used payment instrument by transaction count, were predominantly initiated through digital channels. Instant transfers grew as services became more accessible and regulatory changes encouraged their use, but remained a relatively small share of Single Euro Payments Area credit transfers. Open banking recorded rapid growth in application programming interface calls and an increase in transactions initiated by payment initiation service providers. The accompanying infrastructure statistics, updated through September 2026, show that BI-COMP, the Bank of Italy's retail payment clearing and interbank settlement system, handled approximately 1.64 billion transactions worth EUR 542 billion in the first nine months of 2026. The system began phasing out its Single Euro Payments Area components in March 2024.

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