No. 80 - Digital payments and economic performance: evidence from Italy

Markets, Infrastructures, Payment Systems
by Guerino Ardizzi, Niccolò Lippi Boncambi, Cristina Demma and Alberto Leorati
April 2026
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This paper examines the relationship between the use of digital payments and economic performance across Italian provinces from 2012 to 2023. Using a novel dataset drawn from the statistical sources of Banca d'Italia, Istat and Cerved, we construct granular indicators of digital payment usage, including card transactions, account‑to‑account (A2A) transfers and e‑commerce activity.

By employing a dynamic panel framework that is estimated using System‑GMM, we find a robust positive association between digital payment intensity and nominal GDP per capita. Provinces with greater per‑capita card usage and A2A transfers exhibit a stronger economic performance, a pattern corroborated by broader measures of digital intensity, such as online‑initiated payments.

While our empirical strategy addresses several endogeneity concerns, the results are not strictly causal. They suggest that greater uptake of digital payments is associated with a stronger economic performance and may reflect broader technological and economic modernization.

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  1. 27 April 2026
    No. 80 - Digital payments and economic performance: evidence from Italy
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