40% of Italian SMEs Ready to Ditch Banks for Paytech Solutions

A rapidly developing phenomenon is shaking up the traditional relationship between Italian small and medium-sized businesses and banks: according to a recent study conducted by NRC , approximately 40% of Italian SMEs that are going digital (as part of the so-called “Digital 4.0”) are ready to abandon traditional banks in favor of paytech solutions —i.e., digital payment technologies managed by fintech players or specialized companies.

This shift brings concrete risks for the banking system, which has long relied on payment services to retain corporate customers. However, it also opens up significant opportunities for businesses and digital players in the sector.

The reasons for the paradigm shift of Italian SMEs

According to the study, Italian SMEs perceive concrete advantages in paytech solutions: greater efficiency, more transparent costs, integration with digital systems (ERP, commercial management, electronic invoicing), and a better user experience for their customers. In many cases, these companies express dissatisfaction with traditional banking platforms, which they consider rigid, uninnovative, expensive, or slow to evolve.

In an Italy where SMEs form the backbone of the productive fabric, digital transition is no longer optional: it has become a competitive lever. And in this context, those offering solutions that combine payments and digital services can be highly attractive. Some companies are already ready to declare that they would abandon banks, or significantly reduce their use, in favor of specialized operators.

The risk of “flight” for banks

For banks, the loss of this segment of customers—relatively small in absolute value but strategic—could weaken their ties to the local community and reduce revenue from commissions, digital services, and cross-selling.

Furthermore, if Italian SMEs adopt external payment platforms, the “front door” that banks traditionally had in managing treasury, credit, and financial services may disappear. In other words, the bank could lose control over the client company’s “digital positioning,” ceding ground to more agile players.

On the other hand, some banks have already begun collaborating with fintechs or acquiring digital expertise internally, but they risk competing with their former technology partners. The challenge is therefore twofold: be both a bank and a digital platform provider, or risk being overtaken.

Opportunities for businesses and the fintech market

For Italian SMEs, the move to paytech can mean:

Streamlined processes: faster payments, automatic reconciliations, integrated flows with accounting.

Reduced actual costs (sometimes), thanks to pay-per-use models and competitive commissions.

Greater choice and innovation: Access to new features (e.g., internal split payments, digital wallets, micropayments) that traditional banks may not offer with the same agility.

Relative independence: less reliance on a single creditor or service provider.

The national and international fintech market can see this evolution as a new impetus for growth, integration, and competition, offering modular solutions tailored to Italian SMEs. Players already active in the digital payment solutions segment can seek to consolidate their position by capturing this “outflow” from the traditional banking world.

The unknowns and the challenges

But all that glitters is not gold. Some critical issues emerge as key issues:

Security and reliability: The shift to fintech operators raises issues of compliance, data protection, and business continuity. The fintech world is exposed to high cyber risks, as demonstrated by studies on vulnerabilities in the sector’s digital systems. arXiv +1

Regulation and supervision: Banking supervisory authorities (Bank of Italy, ECB) could introduce new regulations to govern relationships between banks and digital third parties, ensure interoperability, and protect users.

Dependence on external suppliers: A company that entrusts too much of its payment system to an external supplier risks losing negotiating power or experiencing technological lock-in.

Scalability and integration: for SMEs, integrating new digital platforms with legacy systems (ERP, management, accounting) is often complex and expensive.

For the banking-fintech ecosystem, the real test will be reconciling innovation and reliability, ensuring that Italian SMEs can adopt digital solutions without sacrificing security, credit, and operational stability.

A look to the future

If a significant portion of Italian SMEs contribute to this migration to paytech, we could see a redefinition of the relationships between banks, businesses, and digital platforms in the coming years. Banks that successfully transform into integrated digital providers—embracing open or modular solutions—will be able to maintain their relevance. Those that remain tied to legacy platforms will risk being increasingly perceived as costly anachronisms.

For their part, fintechs and digital payment providers will have the opportunity to scale and expand into the B2B segment of SMEs, a market often less explored than that of end consumers. But those who succeed in doing so, focusing on reliability, interoperability, and synergies with the local business community, will be able to secure a key position in the country’s financial architecture.

Ultimately, the “flight to paytech” isn’t just a risk for banks: it’s a sign of structural change that indicates digital infrastructure is becoming the true competitive arena in corporate finance.

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(Featured image by Brett Jordan via Unsplash)

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First published in ARENAdigitale. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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