Annual figure of debit cards in Italy 2010-2020

The number of active debit cards increased steadily in Italy during the last decade. In 2010, there were approximately 37.4 million active debit cards in the country. This figure reached approximately 59 million in 2020. When breaking down the different types of active debit cards in Italy, nearly all these cards had both a cash withdrawal and POS payment function.

Credit cards

On the other hand, credit cards do not appear to be as popular as debit cards, most likely due to the fact that the former require the payment of monthly fees. The number of active credit cards in Italy fluctuated during the last decade. After decreasing from 2010 to 2014, when they reached 12.3 million, credit cards increased in number in following years, peaking at 15.4 million in 2019.

Card payments

The growing number of payment cards led to a spike in card transactions recorded in recent years. Since 2014, the number of card payments in Italy increased more than 50 percent overall, reaching 3.7 billion in 2019. Similarly, the total value of transactions finalized with payment cards grew at an impressive pace in recent years.