What the Worldline Merchant Services Italia Digital Payments Monitor says
The volumes of digital payments with Italian cards have in fact registered a increase of 11.8% in the first half of 2022 compared to the corresponding period of 2021 and of 9.3% compared to the first half of 2019.
It should be noted that 2022, compared to 2019, accelerated in May while, compared to 2021, the acceleration was stronger in the first few months and is now reducing, since in the first months of 2021 the restrictions linked to Covid had a greater weight.
The six-monthly trend in the quantity of transactions carried out with Italian cards is of a similar nature, which in 2022 marked a + 9.7% compared to 2021 and a + 16.5% compared to 2019.
These are just some of the main data that emerge from the Digital Payments Monitor observatory of Worldline Merchant Services Italia, which detects the trend in Italy of spending volumes and the number of transactions made by card through a circuit of 135,000 POS (physical and eCommerce) active on over 76,000 merchants.
The trend in volumes in the main product categories is also of particular interest. The hotel sector, together with the catering sector, recorded the most lively trend compared to the first half of 2021 (respectively + 184.7% and + 111.5%), a strong sign of recovery in tourism in Italy.
Large-scale distribution showed an increase in volumes of 9.1% compared to the first half of 2019, a sign that the pandemic had an impact on the use of electronic payments also in this sector. This is also demonstrated by the half-yearly transaction path which rose 11.5% compared to 2019.
The Utility sector is also heading in this direction, registering an even more significant growth in volumes, of 30.8% compared to the first six months of 2021.
The growth in payments is also significant electronic devices for pharmacies in the last three years, with + 24.9% compared to 2019 in volumes and + 40.2% in the number of transactions. Finally, it should also be noted the growth in the public transport sector, which registered + 35.5% on 2019 and + 69.2% on the first half of 2021.
For Lazio, the growth was slightly more significant, with +18%, while the increase was very substantial for the Aosta Valley, which stands out with a + 176.6%. More important were the increases vs the first six months of 2019, especially in some regions such as Emilia-Romagna (almost + 25%), Puglia (+ 23%), Trentino-Alto Adige (+ 25% vs 2019 and + 39.8% vs 2021) and Liguria, (+ 16.7% vs 2019 + 19.9% vs 2021).
On the opposite side of growth, Sicily was the exception in particular, settling at -0.9% compared to 2021. As regards the number of transactions, the significant growth of Valle d'Aosta compared to 2021, with + 85.9%, should be noted.
L he Worldline Merchant Services Italia observatory reveals that overall the level of digital payments with foreign cards in Italy still remains below the pre-pandemic level, even if there are positive signs for some categories of tourists, such as the British and Americans.
The volumes recorded in fact, marked a + 54% compared to the first half of 2021, while a decrease of 21.1% was recorded compared to the January period I-June 2019: this year the presence of foreign tourists in our country has not yet reached the levels of the pre-pandemic period.
With respect to 2021 there is a more marked push in the months of April and May (with respectively + 112.9% and + 74.8%), thus confirming the hypothesis of a return to a more consistent spending of foreign tourists in our country in the coming months.
