Trust is paramount in digital commerce. Offering secure online payments is not just a technical requirement, but a necessary condition for ensuring customer satisfaction and protecting your brand’s reputation. In Italy, many buyers continue to prefer traditional payment methods such as cash on delivery or prepaid cards, indicating a historical reluctance toward online purchases.

This article will analyze the most popular online payment methods in Italy, why Italian customers remain cautious about shopping online, and which payment methods are the most secure for businesses and customers. We’ll also examine how you can effectively and compliantly manage online payments using reliable infrastructure that helps your business get paid online securely and accept international transactions without risk.

What’s in this article?

• The most popular secure online payment methods in Italy
  
• Italian customers' reluctance to shop online
  
• Which payment methods are most secure for businesses and customers?
  
• How Stripe Payments can help
  

The most popular secure online payment methods in Italy

In recent years, the Italian digital payments market has experienced steady growth. According to the Innovative Payments Observatory of the Polytechnic University of Milan, in 2024, for the first time in Italy, digital payments became the most widely used payment method among Italian customers, accounting for 43% of total consumption, whereas cash dropped to 41%. For a country historically attached to cash and traditionally more wary of electronic payments, this figure is particularly significant. However, the preference for secure online payments remains a key issue for businesses and customers alike.

Among the most popular online payment methods in Italy, there are several solutions, each with its own advantages and security levels. Let’s look at them in detail below.

Credit and debit cards

Credit and debit cards are still the primary method of online payment. However, many people ask themselves: is paying online with a credit card secure? The answer is yes, provided that the website uses adequate security protocols and infrastructure that complies with international standards.

One of the main protection tools is 3D Secure 2 (3DS2), a development of the previous protocol introduced by Visa and Mastercard to reduce online fraud. 3DS2 implements two-factor authentication (Strong Customer Authentication, SCA) that verifies the cardholder’s identity before authorizing the payment.

For instance, the user receives a push notification or an OTP code from their bank, or must confirm the transaction via fingerprint or facial recognition on the credit institution’s app. This system helps distinguish legitimate transactions from suspicious ones, improving security without compromising the user experience.

Another key element is PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certification, which is the international standard developed by the major payment networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and JCB). PCI DSS-compliant payment gateways must adhere to strict security requirements, including end-to-end encryption, controlled card data handling, and regular audits. By using a PCI DSS-certified provider, you can ensure that your customers’ transactions and sensitive data are protected and handled in a compliant manner.

Paying online with a debit card is also secure if you implement these same security measures for accepting payments. The combination of 3DS2, advanced encryption, and PCI DSS compliance is currently one of the most secure online payment methods available for purchases in Italy.

Digital wallets

Digital wallets, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Satispay, are among the most popular secure online payment methods among Italian customers. With digital wallets, customers can complete transactions without sharing their card details with the seller, thereby reducing the risk of identity theft or unauthorized access.

Each payment is authenticated through personal accounts or biometric systems, such as fingerprint or facial recognition. For many users, these tools represent the most secure online payment method as they offer additional protection between the bank and the ecommerce website. In addition, digital wallets ensure faster checkout and, in some cases, immediate refund policies in the event of disputed transactions.

Online bank transfers

Online bank transfers remain a popular choice for those who prefer a more direct and controlled approach to payments. This is considered a secure online payment method, as it is carried out via online banking with strong authentication systems (OTP or confirmation app). In addition to being used by customers to make online purchases, bank transfers are also widely adopted by platforms and businesses to send payouts to merchants, enabling secure and traceable transfers directly to bank accounts.

However, compared to other methods, bank transfers can be less practical for online purchases, as they require longer crediting times and manual intervention by the customer. In recent years, the advancement of open banking and instant bank transfers has made this system faster and more competitive for ecommerce as well, offering businesses operating in Italy a traceable, secure payment channel with less risk of chargebacks.

Prepaid cards

Prepaid cards, also known as stored value cards, are a pillar of the Italian digital payments market. Products such as PostePay, Hype, N26, and Revolut are especially popular since they allow users to manage a balance separate from their main account.

Many customers consider them the safest method of paying online, as even in the event of fraud, potential losses are limited to the preloaded amount.

Prepaid cards are also a tool for financial inclusion: they allow young people, students, and people without traditional bank accounts to shop online safely. Today, many banks and fintech companies also offer disposable virtual cards, which are ideal for single transactions or for signing up for digital services without risk.

For you as a business, accepting payments with prepaid cards means expanding your customer base and offering an experience that is perceived as more reliable by a large segment of Italian shoppers.

Cash on delivery

Cash on delivery remains a typically Italian payment method, chosen by those who still do not fully trust secure online payments. This system, which involves cash payment upon delivery, gives customers a greater sense of control: they only pay after receiving the product.

However, this entails additional costs for businesses and a higher risk of returns or failed pickups. Although it is not a secure online payment method in the technical sense, cash on delivery remains a useful tool for gaining the trust of customers who are new to digital experiences, with the possibility of gradually converting them to more modern and secure systems.

How to shop online securely

To shop online safely, always choose reliable websites (recognizable by the HTTPS protocol) and use secure online payment methods such as cards with 3DS2 or digital wallets. Avoid sharing your card details via email or unsecured channels, and always keep your receipt or order confirmation. If in doubt, check the seller’s reviews and favor platforms that offer:

• Fraud protection: Fraud prevention solutions are automated tools that analyze every payment to identify and block suspicious transactions. These technologies monitor activity in real time and prevent fraudulent use of payment data.

• Right to a refund: Provides for the possibility of getting your money back if the transaction is unsuccessful, the product is not delivered, or the right of withdrawal provided for by the Consumer Code is exercised (within 14 days for online purchases).

Italian customers' reluctance to shop online

Despite the steady growth of online shopping and secure payments, many Italians continue to show a certain caution toward digital transactions. The main reasons are fear of fraud and personal data theft, and a persistent lack of trust in online sellers. Although security technologies such as tokenization, the 3DS2 protocol, and two-factor authentication now ensure very high security standards, the subjective perception of Italian customers is often more cautious than in other European countries.

In Italy, cash still holds strong cultural value as a symbol of control and tangibility. This explains why many customers prefer secure online payment methods that do not require them to enter their card details, such as PayPal or prepaid cards, or opt for “hybrid” solutions such as cash on delivery, which allows them to pay only at the time of delivery.

For businesses, this mistrust represents both a challenge and an opportunity: showing transparency and security in online payments can become a powerful factor in building customer trust and loyalty. Here are some effective best practices you might want to consider:

• Emphasize security
  Display SSL certificates, PCI DSS compliance logos, and references to protocols such as 3DS2 on your website to reassure customers that online payment is secure.

• Explain protective measures clearly
  For instance, explain that paying by credit card online is secure because the data is never stored in plain text and because international networks (such as Visa or Mastercard) offer refund mechanisms in the event of fraud.

• Offer alternatives that are safe and perceived as such
  Offering digital wallets, prepaid cards, or instant bank transfers helps to engage even the wariest users.

• Educate customers about digital security
  Explain that paying online with a debit card is secure, provided that the purchase is made on a certified website using strong authentication methods.

Which payment methods are most secure for businesses and customers?

When it comes to secure online payment methods, security must be guaranteed by both parties: the payer and the payee. For businesses, accepting payments in a compliant and secure manner reduces the risk of chargebacks and fraud; for customers, knowing that their data is protected promotes loyalty.

The most secure online payment is one that uses advanced security protocols, two-factor authentication, and data tokenization. In general, digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, or Satispay, and credit cards with 3DS2 are considered the most secure online payment methods since they minimize the risk of fraud and protect the cardholder’s data.

Comparison of the main online payment methods in Italy

How Stripe Payments can help

Ensuring secure online payments means not only protecting sensitive data, but also offering customers a smooth, reliable, and consistent experience across every channel. This is why choosing a robust, compliant payment infrastructure such as Stripe Payments delivers security, efficiency,and scalability in a single platform.

Stripe Payments provides a unified, global payments solution that helps any business—from scaling startups to global enterprises—accept payments online, in person, and around the world.

Stripe Payments can help you:

• Optimize your checkout experience: Create a frictionless customer experience and save thousands of engineering hours with prebuilt payment UIs, access to 125+ payment methods, and Link, a wallet built by Stripe.
  
• Expand to new markets faster: Reach customers worldwide and reduce the complexity and cost of multicurrency management with cross-border payment options, available in 195 countries across 135+ currencies.
  
• Unify payments in person and online: Build a unified commerce experience across online and in-person channels to personalize interactions, reward loyalty, and grow revenue.
  
• Improve payments performance: Increase revenue with a range of customizable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and advanced capabilities to improve authorization rates.
  
• Move faster with a flexible, reliable platform for growth: Build on a platform designed to scale with you, with 99.999% uptime and industry-leading reliability.
  

Learn more about how Stripe Payments can power your online and in-person payments, or get started today.