Apple Pay

Yes, yes, yes!

Not Italy, but I was just in Madrid for 11 days and literally only used cash ONE time. And that was to break a 50 euro note, just in case I needed smaller bills.

I wouldn't count on Apple Pay, but I can confirm that contactless credit card pay has swept the continent. damned convenient.

I've used Apple Pay in Rome recently. No problems.

For me, using Apple Pay on my Apple Watch is the essence of contactless payment!

If you see that contactless logo on the point-of-service terminal, Apple Pay will work, just like a credit/debit card with a chip.

Apple is not the phone of choice in most of Europe, but with covid, Italy has rapidly adopted contactless pay, to the point where I was encouraged to tap, instead of insert my card. As another poster stated, if a device accepts tap to pay, it likely accepts phone pay apps, both Apple and Google Pay. It may vary by the business some, but worth trying.

An Edit: As a result of encouraging contactless pay, they have also increased the "Dollar" limit that can be used with no further verification...so using either phone or contactless card, no PIN or signature is required for most transactions. Makes it much faster and less cumbersome for Americans with chip and signature cards, so even if Apple/Google Pay is not for you, contactless is an easy substitute.

My only tap-ro-pay credit card is an American Express card which, according to other posts, doesn’t enjoy universal acceptance in Italy. As a result, I applied for a tap-to-pay Visa card. I figure between that card and Apple Pay, I should be in the contactless payment sweet zone!

Just returned from London, Rome and Southern Italy last night (3/31). The most time I used cash was to pay my taxi fare, some of them even were done via contactless pay. Definitely standard form of payment in London and Rome, but I was in smaller towns - Battipaglia, Salerno, Paestum, and Positano - for several days... all of the vendors accept contactless pay. Additionally since I have it on my phone (Samsung S21 Ultra - using both Google Pay and Samsung Pay), I did not need to present the card physically - no risk of forgetting to collect the card or losing it. Win-win!

Paying via my watch means no fumbling for my phone or wallet, so that's definitely a win-win-win

Returned last week from our trip from Rome, Pompeii, Pisa, Florence, and Venice - most all major locations accepted contactless payments - even metro in Rome. I didn't specifically use Apple Pay, but the credit card I stored within the Apple Wallet. Only locations I didn't have ability, were places that weren't ready for credit at all - out in the Tuscany country side, at a small vendor, etc. Just used euros for that.