Digital payments, in bars and restaurants almost every second transaction
According to the Sumup Observatory, out-of-home consumption leads the growth of cashless in Italy (47% of total transactions), average receipt falls
In 2025, almost one out of every two digital payments in Italy will take place in the catering industry: in cafés, bars, restaurants, food trucks, fast food and delivery, 47% of the recorded cashless transactions will take place. And 12.9% will take place in grocery stores. Overall, in the first nine months of 2025, digital payments in Italy will grow by +27.5%, while the average cashless receipt will fall to 31.8 euro, marking a decrease of -6.9% compared to the same period in 2024.
This is the picture that emerges from the Cashless Consumption Observatory by SumUp, a fintech active in the digital payments sector with innovative solutions for businesses of all sizes, which analysed cashless spending data in the main product sectors in all regional capitals, revealing where and for what Italians prefer to pay by card.
Customs change according to geographic area: while in Aosta people prefer cashless especially at the bar, Ancona leads the ranking for cafés and restaurants and Venice tops the list for cashless payments at fast food outlets. In Trento, cinema and concert tickets are purchased most often with cards; in Trieste, taxis are the drivers of digital spending.
On a national level, the sectors where the largest increase in cashless payments in 2025 was recorded were jewellery stores with +73.4%, followed by bars (+37%) and entertainment (+35.8%). In fourth and fifth place were restaurants (+35.1%) and groceries (+33.2%), while food trucks (+23.9%) and fast food (+20.2%) also saw a significant increase.
According to the Digital Payments Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, cashless payments surpassed cash in Italy in 2024, accounting for 43% of total consumption (EUR 481 billion) against 41% for cash.
