Impact of the Pandemic on Cash in Italy

ADAM, which produces cash management software solutions, has written a series of blogs during the pandemic recording what has happened to cash in Italy in the last year. Its latest report updates the series through until December 2020, drawing some initial conclusions.

As elsewhere, Italy’s pandemic has consisted of a series of ‘waves’, with the first one peaking in April and the second in November 2020. During the first wave cash usage fell by just over 50% before recovering. It fell most in the regions most affected by COVID-19. After the first wave the drop in cash has mirrored not the disease but the restrictions put in place.

This is illustrated by looking at two regions, Lombardy and Veneto. In Lombardy the second wave peaked in November and then fell sharply. In Veneto COVID-19 infections did not reach the same level as in Lombardy, 75% of their level, but it persisted until mid-December, by which time it was three times the level being experienced in Lombardy. Despite this, Lombardy had stricter lockdown restrictions for longer than Veneto. Cash usage in Lombardy continued to drop through December, more than in Veneto.

Impact of Italy’s ‘cashback’ scheme

In January’s edition of Cash and Payment News™, Italy’s introduction of a cashback scheme on 8 December 2020 to encourage the use of digital payments was reviewed. ADAM looked at the Italian Retail Federation’s data on household consumption expenditure and concluded that the cashback scheme had contributed to a bigger drop in cash usage. In November, before the start of the scheme, cash usage fell 24.66% and consumption fell 16.2%. In December cash fell even more, 28.73%, while household consumption fell by less, 11.1%.

Percentage change in cash usage (April and November/December were peak months for COVID-19) Source: ADAM.