# Card processing fees in Italy: the real cost of POS

**Card processing fees Italy** matter more than the headline percentage on a contract. In 2025, 47% of cashless transactions in Italy took place in bars, restaurants, fast food and delivery, a figure certified by the SumUp Cashless Consumption Observatory for the first nine months of the year, with growth of 27.5% over 2024. Customers pay by card more often, yet many owners still see the POS as an opaque cost.

## Cashless growth and the regional map

Adoption is spreading beyond the largest cities. Campobasso leads growth at +157% in digital transactions, followed by Ancona at +105% and Catanzaro at +70.7%. Ancona concentrates 31.8% of its transactions in cafes and restaurants, ahead of Rome at 29.4%, Catanzaro at 28.6% and Milan at 27.9%. The average cashless ticket fell to EUR 31.80, down 6.9% on 2024, with Genoa at EUR 23.30, Bologna at EUR 24.40 and Cagliari at EUR 27.50. Digital payment now covers the morning coffee and the quick lunch, which makes the choice of provider and the understanding of operating costs more strategic, not less.

## Comparing the operators

The main Italian providers differ in structure more than in rate. SumUp applies a flat 1.95% with no monthly fee and no fixed cost, and its entry device costs EUR 39. A Payments Plus plan at EUR 19 per month lowers the rate to 0.95% for in-person payments above EUR 2,250 in monthly volume, with settlement at T+1 and no exit penalty. Nexi uses a more articulated model: EUR 29 activation and 1.89% on European cards and PagoBANCOMAT, a Micropagamenti initiative that waives fees up to EUR 10 until 31 January 2026 for businesses with revenue below EUR 400,000, and a Protection Plus charge of EUR 37.50 in the first year and EUR 30 per year afterwards. Its subscription plans start at EUR 17.50 per month for 24 months, include the first EUR 1,000 of volume and charge 1.2% above it, with binding terms. Axerve offers a fee-based plan at 1% with no monthly fee and a device from about EUR 100, or a subscription at EUR 17 per month plus VAT up to EUR 10,000 in annual volume and EUR 22 up to EUR 30,000, then 1% on the excess, with settlement at T+1 and no lock-in.

The difference appears in scenarios. A bar with 500 monthly transactions and an EUR 8 average ticket processes EUR 4,000: about EUR 78 in fees with SumUp, EUR 75.60 plus EUR 2.50 of Protection Plus with Nexi, and EUR 40 with Axerve. Over a year, the gap between SumUp and Axerve approaches EUR 456. For a restaurant processing EUR 20,000 per month, the Nexi subscription becomes competitive, but only if it consistently exceeds the EUR 1,000 included in the monthly fee.

## Costs beyond the rate

At least five items rarely appear during evaluation. Chargeback fees run from EUR 15 to EUR 25 per dispute regardless of the outcome. Extra terminals and accessories often carry separate fees or higher commissions. Cards issued outside the euro area generate surcharges between 0.50% and 2%, and business cards cost more, sometimes disclosed only after activation. Binding clauses of 24 or 36 months carry early-exit penalties that can exceed EUR 500. Technical integration is the fifth item: the 2025 Budget Law requires POS devices to connect to electronic cash registers through a dedicated online service from 2026, and not every provider includes the integration natively.

## What fees mean on real margins

Fees should be read against net profit, not revenue. A bar selling a coffee at EUR 1.20 with a 70% margin earns EUR 0.84 before a 1.95% fee of EUR 0.023, which erodes 2.7% of the margin on that transaction. Across 200 coffee sales a day paid by card, the monthly impact is about EUR 138, the equivalent of 165 coffees given to the payment system. A restaurant with an EUR 35 average ticket, a 25% margin and 60% of revenue through POS at an average 1.5% transfers about EUR 525 per month, over EUR 6,000 a year. Negotiating 1% instead of 1.5% would save EUR 3,150 annually. Settlement timing adds a liquidity cost: the difference between T+1 and T+2 can leave EUR 3,000 to EUR 4,000 temporarily unavailable for a business with EUR 15,000 in weekly volume.

## The 2025 rules and the 2026 deadline

Decree Law 36/2022 introduced the obligation to accept POS payments above EUR 30, with fines of EUR 30 plus 4% of the refused transaction. The 2025 Budget Law goes further and requires the connection between POS and electronic cash registers from 2026, with the stated goal of improving traceability and reducing tax evasion. The practical effect is the obsolescence of many devices in use and the need to evaluate integrated solutions now. The 30% tax credit on POS fees, introduced in 2020 for businesses with revenue below EUR 400,000, remains formally available but is difficult to use because it works as a tax offset. Satispay offers a different model, with zero fees up to EUR 10 and a fixed EUR 0.20 above, though its user base is narrower than card coverage.

## Choosing a provider

The cheapest headline rate rarely produces the lowest total cost. A decision benefits from mapping real transaction volumes, seasonality and integration needs, then checking chargeback fees, inactivity fees, exit clauses and compatibility with the management software already in use. The cost of not digitalising is also real: in 2024, cashless payments reached 43% of Italian consumption, EUR 481 billion, exceeding cash at 41% for the first time. Customers under 40 pay mainly by card or phone, and refusing that option excludes a growing share of the market, with effects that appear as lost revenue and negative reviews rather than an invoice line.

Fees are one line of the margin, and [the ROI of local micro-influencers](/en/ecorner/2025/local-micro-influencer-roi.html) is another one that small businesses often measure badly.

## Frequently asked questions

**Are POS fees only the percentage rate?**
No. Chargeback fees, extra terminals, surcharges on non-European cards, binding clauses and integration costs often weigh more than the headline rate.

**Which provider is cheapest?**
It depends on volume and profile. A low-volume bar may pay less with a fee-based plan, while a restaurant with steady volume can benefit from a subscription that includes the first tranche.

**What changes in 2026?**
The 2025 Budget Law requires POS devices to connect to electronic cash registers, which will make some current devices obsolete and favour integrated systems.

**What is the cost of refusing card payments?**
Cashless payments reached 43% of Italian consumption in 2024. Refusing them excludes a large and growing share of customers and produces lost revenue that never appears in the accounts.

## Sources

SumUp — cashless consumption observatory — https://sumup.it/
Nexi — POS and payment solutions — https://www.nexi.it/
Axerve — payment services — https://www.axerve.com/
Banca d'Italia — payment system statistics — https://www.bancaditalia.it/
European Commission — payment services and consumer protection — https://finance.ec.europa.eu/consumer-finance-and-payments_en