E-commerce payments involve various entities and systems that work together to authorise and complete transactions quickly, depending on the customer, business, payment gateway, payment processor, and card network. The most recent data on e-commerce and digital payments in Italy shows the importance of these systems.

In 2025, the value of B2C e-commerce purchases reached €62.3 billion in Italy, according to the B2C eCommerce and Digital Innovation in Retail Observatories of Milan Polytechnic in Italy. This shows 7% growth compared to 2024. After Italy's initial shift away from cash in 2024, digital payments also showed 7% growth in 2025. Digital payments made up €518 billion in transactions, and 45% of overall purchases were made using digital tools, compared to 38% in cash. These figures show the increasing importance for e-commerce businesses to develop payment strategies that incorporate digital payments to satisfy customer needs and preferences.

When starting an e-commerce business or growing an existing one, it can be challenging to understand the complexities of online payments. In this article, we explain how e-commerce payments work, including different payment methods available on the market and security for online transactions.

Key takeaways

• In 2025, B2C e-commerce in Italy totalled €62.3 billion, with digital payments rising to €518 billion or 45% of overall spending. Innovative payment methods recorded particularly fast growth, making up a projected €84.9 billion and growing 45% compared to 2024.
  
• E-commerce payments involve customers, businesses, payment gateways, payment processors, and payment networks. These entities work together to securely transmit data, verify the availability of funds, authorise transactions, and transfer money from customer accounts to business accounts.
  
• E-commerce businesses in Italy have access to various payment methods, including credit and debit cards, prepaid cards, PayPal, digital wallets, deferred payments, Satispay, and wire transfers. It is important for businesses to choose the method best suited to their customers. This can help satisfy customer preferences and facilitate more online payments.
  
• Payment security in e-commerce requires several levels of protection, including Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS) encryption, tokenisation, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance, Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), and secure payment gateways. Regular updates of site software also help reduce vulnerability, unauthorised access, and risks to customer information.
  

How e-commerce payments work

To understand digital payments – also known as "electronic payments" – it is important to define them. They are financial transactions customers make using digital tools or channels. They can include established payment methods – such as credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers – and also digital wallets, such as Google Pay and Apple Pay.

In Italy, innovative payment methods have also become more popular. According to the Innovative Payments Observatory of Milan Polytechnic, in 2025, innovative payments reached a value of €84.9 billion, with a growth of 45% compared to 2024. This equates to 16% of total digital payments and includes innovative payment solutions such as smartphone and wearable device payments.

Requirements for accepting electronic payments in Italian businesses

The regulatory framework has also contributed to the wider adoption of electronic payments. In Italy, Article 15 of Decree-Law No. 179 of 18 October 2012 establishes the obligation for those selling products or providing services – including professionals – to accept electronic payments, unless it is objectively and technically impossible.

Since 30 June 2022, refusing an electronic payment of any amount carries an administrative penalty of €30, plus 4% of the value of the refused transaction.

Below, we provide more details about how digital payments work.

Parties involved in digital payments

While digital payments are nearly instantaneous, there are several parties involved behind the scenes. In a few seconds, these parties carry out the steps to successfully process transactions. The parties involved include the following:

• The customer or payer: The individual who initiates the process of purchasing a good or service from the business
  
• The business or beneficiary: The business selling the good or service
  
• The payment gateway: The software application that acts as a bridge between the business's website and the payment processor
  
• The payment processor: The organisation that has implemented the infrastructure and technology needed to validate payment information, authorise transactions, and make corresponding transfers from the issuing bank to the acquiring bank
  
• The payment network: The organisation that facilitates the electronic transfer of funds among individuals, businesses, and financial institutions
  

Payment networks (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express) are interconnected systems of financial entities (e.g., banks, credit card companies, credit unions) that work together to process cashless transactions securely and quickly.

E-commerce payment process

It is important to understand how payments work in e-commerce and how the parties interact with each other to ensure a successful transaction. Here are the steps involved:

• The customer enters their payment information on the business's payment page.
  
• The payment gateway receives this information and sends it securely to the payment processor.
  
• The payment processor forwards it to the payment network, which can include credit card networks, such as Visa or Mastercard. The payment network checks with the issuing bank that the necessary funds are available to make the purchase and that the card is not blocked.
  
• If the issuing bank accepts the payment, it transfers the money from the customer's account to the payment processor. The payment processor sends the money to the merchant account, which transfers it to the business's main bank account.
  
• The payment gateway confirms the sale, both to the customer and business.
  

Main types of e-commerce payment methods in Italy

To maximise the conversion rate and expand into new markets, it is important to offer multiple payment methods. Businesses need to select those that are relevant to their customers. In recent years, new payment options have been added to popular and widely used methods such as credit and debit cards. Here are the main payment methods available in Italy for e-commerce businesses:

• Credit and debit cards
  Credit cards and debit cards are the most commonly used e-commerce payment method in Italy. The main difference between these methods is that credit card accounts are typically debited at the end of the month, while money is withdrawn from debit card accounts immediately.

• Prepaid and top-up cards
  In general, Italian customers consider prepaid cards to be safe and reliable tools that allow them to better control expenses. They are also accepted by the majority of e-commerce sites. In Italy, one of the most used prepaid cards – including for online purchases – is Postepay. It is important for e-commerce businesses that operate in Italy to consider making Postepay available as a payment method.

• PayPal
  With PayPal, you can allow customers in more than 200 markets to pay online. By connecting their PayPal account with a bank account or payment card, the customer does not need to communicate their financial data when making a purchase. For Italians, this makes PayPal one of the preferred e-commerce payment methods.

• Digital wallets
  Digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay or Google Pay) are mobile applications that allow users to save their payment information, so they can pay directly from their smartphone or tablet instead of using physical payment cards. Since there's no need to manually enter card details at the time of purchase, they are a quick and easy online payment option.

• Buy now, pay later (BNPL) options
  BNPL payments involve purchases being divided into several instalments, with the first payment due at the time of purchase. While businesses receive the full amount right away, customers can pay in instalments over time, generally a few weeks or months. Some BNPL providers add interest to the service, but many offer interest-free repayment options.

• Satispay
  Satispay is a popular digital wallet in Italy with more than 6.5 million active customers and more than 450,000 participating stores, both physical and online. This payment method allows customers to pay via smartphones without manually inserting card details at checkout. For e-commerce businesses that cater to the Italian market, offering Satispay can be useful because it helps satisfy the preferences of a wide customer base.

• Bank transfer
  Bank transfers are a relatively little used payment method in Italy and often not included among the options available on e-commerce websites. The time frames for crediting the amounts take longer compared to using credit and debit cards, so they tend to be less attractive to businesses that generally prefer to collect the funds immediately. However, businesses that cater to more traditional customers – who are not yet familiar with the most modern e-commerce payment channels – might choose to offer this payment option.

• Cash on delivery (COD)
  COD is one of the first payment methods used for e-commerce in Italy. It is considered a secure method, but it has disadvantages from a business perspective. For example, if the customer is not present at the time of delivery, the business must wait to receive payment.

PayPal: Is it safe for e-commerce businesses?

PayPal is an e-commerce payment method preferred by Italian customers. They perceive this method as secure because it allows them to buy online without providing credit card details. But is it actually safe for e-commerce businesses? Below, we explain the tools PayPal uses to protect e-commerce sales.

Seller protection

PayPal's Seller Protection can safeguard businesses against certain unauthorised payments or disputes over items not received.

It can apply in two situations: if the business receives an unauthorised payment or if a customer claims – through the PayPal Purchase Protection programme – that they did not receive the item. Through the Seller Protection programme, PayPal can cover the full amount of the payment for eligible sales.

Fraud protection

PayPal's anti-fraud tools use network data and machine learning technologies to identify and manage potentially risky transactions.

This is an integrated solution that uses information from the PayPal network and machine learning to help businesses combat fraud. With this tool, businesses can customise anti-fraud filters based on risk tolerance and specific business needs. This can help improve chargeback and rejection rates.

Chargeback protection

PayPal's chargeback protection can provide coverage for certain transactions that are disputed as unauthorised or related to an item not received. PayPal monitors online credit and debit card transactions and assesses the risk of fraud. For transactions that meet the programme's requirements, the protection can cover certain disputes and the associated chargeback costs.

Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and 3D Secure (3DS)

The PayPal platform supports Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) provided for by the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and cardholder authentication through 3DS. PSD2 introduced stricter security requirements for electronic payments, with the aim of reducing the risk of fraud.

3DS is an authentication standard that adds an additional level of security to online credit or debit card transactions. The most recent version – 3D Secure 2 (3DS2) – is the main method used to authenticate online card payments and satisfy SCA requirements.

When SCA is requested, the customer's identity must be verified using at least two elements that belong to various categories.

Why is it important for e-commerce businesses in Italy to accept Postepay?

Postepay is one of the most popular payment tools in Italy. At the end of 2025, Poste Italiane recorded 30.2 million Postepay and Postepay Debit cards, including 22.7 million Postepay prepaid cards. During that year, around 3.4 billion transactions were carried out with these cards, including 795 million through e-commerce and the web – an increase of 11.6% compared to 2024. This data shows how much Postepay is used for online purchases in Italy.

Postepay was launched by Poste Italiane in 2003 to encourage wider adoption of alternative payment methods to cash. It is now available in various versions aimed at customers and businesses. For e-commerce businesses selling in Italy, offering Postepay as a payment method can help respond to the purchasing trends of a major portion of Italian customers.

How to secure e-commerce payments

One of the key concerns for anyone selling products or services online and accepting payments through their website or mobile applications is protecting financial transactions from unauthorised access, data breaches and fraud. But how can you actually protect your e-commerce payments?

Let's take a look at the main measures that can be taken:

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption protocol
  A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate encrypts all information sent to your online store, making it more difficult for attackers to access your data. This helps protect both your website and your customers' data.

• Tokenisation
  Tokenisation replaces sensitive information – such as the card number or CVV – with a unique, random code, thus securing the actual card information.

• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance
  The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) consists of a set of security standards designed to ensure that all businesses processing, storing or transmitting credit card information maintain a secure environment. PCI DSS compliance helps businesses to minimise the risk of breaches, protect customer data, and avoid potential fines or penalties.

• Two-step authentication
  Two-step authentication is a fundamental security measure for digital payments, as it verifies the identity of users attempting to access or complete a transaction. Two-step authentication adds an additional layer of security to e-commerce transactions. To make a payment, the user requires a second factor in addition to their password – for example, a one-time code sent via SMS or a fingerprint.

• Secure payment gateway
  Relying on a secure payment gateway that complies with PCI DSS and other relevant industry standards is key to the security of transactions on your e-commerce website, saving you the trouble of meeting these requirements yourself.

• Regular website updates
  It is important to schedule regular security updates to fix the latest vulnerabilities that your website is exposed to. It is therefore significant to update the core software running your e-commerce website – to protect your payment infrastructure and customer data from vulnerabilities, cyberattacks and unauthorised access.

Choosing the right payment provider is important to starting an online business and growing it – all while ensuring you meet the latest compliance and security requirements needed to protect your payments, your data, and that of your customers. Start now with Stripe to learn more about how we can help you achieve these goals.

How Stripe Payments can help

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:

• Optimise your checkout experience: Create a frictionless customer experience and save engineering time with prebuilt payment UIs, access to 125+ payment methods, and Link, Stripe's consumer network.
  
• Expand to new markets faster: Reach customers worldwide and reduce the complexity and cost of multi-currency 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 personalise interactions, reward loyalty and grow revenue.
  
• Improve payments performance: Increase revenue with a range of customisable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and advanced capabilities to improve authorisation rates.
  
• Move faster with a flexible, reliable platform for growth: Build on a platform designed to scale with you, with 99.999% historical uptime and industry-leading reliability.
  

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

FAQs about e-commerce payments in Italy