Italians still use cash more often than the eurozone average — for around 69% of in-person transactions, but that too is down 13% since 2019. The ECB found 58% of Italian consumers preferred cashless payments, compared to just 18% that strongly prefer physical money. But consumers’ growing enthusiasm for digital payments is not shared by Italy’s small business owners. They complain bitterly about the high bank fees for processing card payments. And cash sales are also far more easily hidden from tax collectors.