When dining out at a mid-range or relatively fancy establishment, basically any place where you expect to spend more than 20 Euros per person — you generally won’t have a hard time paying with your card. Where you might face complications paying with plastic is when it comes to leaving a little something for your server. Tipping in Italy is not considered mandatory, and most card machines will not have a tipping option. Therefore, if you do want to leave a tip (around 10% of the bill is the accepted amount in Italy), you’ll need cash for that.
And while dining fancy and enjoying a multicourse meal is one way to savor Italian cuisine, street food, and local snacks are equally essential experiences. When you’re enjoying decadent cannolis, crunchy arancini balls, and succulent morsels of porchetta, all of which usually cost under 5 Euros, you can’t be whipping out your card to pay for them.
Another important factor is location. Establishments in tourist areas, especially in major cities, are much more likely to accept payments through cards and mobile applications. If you’re venturing off the beaten trail, especially in search of hidden gems like the rarest pasta in the world which is only produced in a remote town in Sardinia, cash is what you need to carry with you.