Fintech Survey on Unsupervised Italian Operators 2025 (Banca d'Italia)

Summary

• Starting from a list of over 600 companies, 339 were identified and invited, and 132 questionnaires were received.p.7
• The analysis rests on a sample of 121 operators, equal to 36% of the identified set.p.8
• More than 50% of the firms have fewer than 10 employees.p.9
• 83% of firms have already started a plan to access foreign markets or intend to start one in the next year.p.9
• Companies founded 5 to 10 years ago are the largest segment, with 59 units or 49% of respondents.p.10
• 83% of companies are limited liability companies (S.r.l.) and 15% are joint-stock companies (S.p.A.).p.11
• 34% of respondents are innovative startups and 27% innovative SMEs, for a total of 61%.p.11

Key insights

1. The ecosystem is young and dynamic, made of independent, recently founded microfirms concentrated in Northern Italy and mostly operating B2B.p.9
2. Technology service suppliers play the prevailing role in the sector.p.9
3. The sector relies significantly on self-financing.p.9
4. Almost one operator in two is engaged in Fintech for Good projects.p.9
5. Use of patents and certifications remains limited.p.9
6. About 78% of firms do not belong to a group, and 17% belong to foreign groups.p.11
7. Data were collected through an online questionnaire between February and April 2025, referring to 2024.p.7