Revolut, Italy is increasingly contactless

Revolut, a card that now has half a million customers in Italy (and 13 million, overall, globally), analyzed the trends recorded in 2020, confirming in fact what was under everyone's eyes in terms of growth in the world and commerce. However, the detailed analysis also suggests some further nuances, useful for better understanding what kind of online commerce has appeared among the preferences of Italians, signing a "new beginning" that will act as a bridge between the pre-pandemic reality and the "new post-pandemic normality.

Revolut: less cash, more local e-commerce

When we are still in the midst of this transition, there are mainly three evidences that Revolut suggests:

there is a greater focus on Italian e-commerce

“Italian consumers have paid more attention to local e-commerce channels over the past year. Although the largest spending is still made on global e-shops, the average user spending on Italian sites grew by 142% compared to 2019, showing a likely greater attention towards Italian companies during the months of the pandemic. In detail, in 2020, Italians spent an average of 913 euros per person on global sites and 530 euros per person on local sites “; spending in Italy exceeded foreign spending by 300%

"The pandemic has necessarily affected the travel plans of Italians, who in 2020 spent three times what they spent abroad with paper in shops in Italy . Moreover, this year the amount spent by Revolut customers in Italy was 65% higher than that spent in 2019 "; fewer ATM withdrawals, more contactless payments

The cash crunch, whatever the accident cause (in part the pandemic, in part online purchases, in part the state cashback, in part a growing aversion to paper money), continues and accelerates: " customers are looking for safer payment methods and are using contactless more. If in December 2019 72% of payments were contactless, in December 2020 the percentage increased to 81%. Growth was also influenced by the use of Apple Pay and Google Pay. That attention to safety is on the rise is also confirmed by another significant fact: cash withdrawals at the counters, which in 2019 were used by 71% of customers, in 2020 were carried out by only 35% ".

2021 will be essential to understand both the market equilibrium in the cashless payments sector, and to understand the effective rooting of this type of payments among the habits of users. The feeling is that the year that has just begun may trace a still overwhelming growth, driven by a pandemic that does not give up its grip on Europe and on the fact that, once apps and payment cards have been prepared, inertia can favor their use to the detriment of cash. This moves the center of gravity decisively towards the world of digital payments and in a much more structural way than in the past.