We are in 2025 and digital payments should now be possible everywhere in Italy. According to a new survey by Altroconsumo however, this is not exactly the case. Despite technological progress and the spread of credit cards, prepaid cards and payment apps, in Italian local markets we are still very far from complete digitalisation: 4 times out of 10 the street vendors (among those sampled) did not accept electronic payments, and in some cities such as Naples the rule is “cash only”.
The survey was conducted between 21 July and 2 August 2025, with an “in the field” approach which involved visits to two weekly markets for each of the 10 cities examined:
Operators have tried to make cashless purchases, ranging from food products, clothing and household items, with amounts between 2 and 10 euros. The objective was to verify whether street vendors accepted digital payment and what the reasons were for any refusal.
The data collected then made it possible to highlight the differences between cities and to understand which obstacles still slow down the use of POS among small traders. Let’s find out the results immediately.
What the investigation discovered in local markets
The survey highlighted some very clear trends: 37% of the street vendors visited do not accept digital payments. Among these, almost half, 46%, explained that they do not have a POS, the tool which by law since 2014 should allow all traders, including street vendors, to receive electronic payments.
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The refusals mainly concern low-value purchases, less than 5 euros, where bank commissions significantly weigh on the profit.
The differences between cities are marked: in Naples all the street vendors encountered accept exclusively cash, while in Cagliari and Padua the digitalisation is almost total, with only one refusal in ten. In Catania and Rome, however, respectively 6 and 5 out of 10 street vendors refused the card, while in Genoa and Turin the refusal concerned around 4 out of 10 stalls. Finally, Bari, Bologna and Milan recorded few refusals, 2 out of 10, even if in many cases those who accept the card do so complaining about the commissions while in Bari there are those who have defined the POS system as a “state scam”.
Why street vendors refuse paper and debit cards
The main reasons are the same in all cities:
One of the most critical issues undoubtedly concerns bank commissions. For a purchase of 5 euros, the commission can vary from 10 to 50 cents, a considerable fee for a small seller and 11% of street vendors refuse the card below a minimum amount precisely because of the transaction costs.
About this Altroconsumo writes:
Our cash-free tour of the markets this summer has shown that to make digital payments truly convenient for both payers and receivers, collection fees must be affordable even for small businesses.
It should be added that in 2023 a protocol was signed between Abi and trade associations to reduce commissions on digital payments up to 30 euros and eliminate them for amounts up to 10 euros. However, it was only a voluntary invitation, which few responded to, and a legal obligation would risk violating anti-competitive rules. The result is that today commissions remain a concrete obstacle to the use of POS, still making it difficult for many street vendors to accept digital payments, especially for small amounts.
