Italy’s Treasury agrees to sell digital payments unit PagoPA to Poste Italiane

Key Highlights

• Earlier this year, PagoPA encountered disagreements over its valuation in the planned sale to Poste Italiane.
• In recent months, Italian banks have expressed concerns that the sale could intensify competition in the digital payments sector, particularly for smaller lenders.
• Sources previously informed Reuters that banks had expressed worries to the Treasury that Poste Italiane could leverage PagoPA to further strengthen its position in the digital payments sector, where it already holds a notable presence, potentially increasing competition with banks.
• Banks in Italy are said to be facing increasing competition in payments from global technology companies such as PayPal, Apple, and Google’s Alphabet, Reuters noted.
• Poste Italiane has diversified its operations, moving beyond postal services into payments, energy supply, mobile services, insurance, and investment products.