As we had announced about a month, Silicon Valley has arrived. Hi-tech big names, after several forays into the digital payments world, smell the potential of a rapidly growing sector and take the first step.

Apple announces that it will launch its own credit card in the next few months. An almost obligatory response of the American giant in search of a new life after the iPhone. The Apple credit card is going to be synchronized with the owner's smartphone, a perfect symbiosis in a system where mobile devices are becoming one of the most appreciated tools by consumers for their purchases. A Gfk Eurisko survey earlier this year showed that Italians are the first in Europe for smartphone purchases: with an average of 47% compared to the European average of 33%.

The Californian giant's stepping on comes at a time when digital payments are expanding rapidly. In Italy for example, although the use of cash remains a very strong custom for consumers, in 2017 digital payments grew by over 10%, reaching 220 billion euros of transactions.

In recent years, other Silicon Valley big names such as Amazon, Facebook and Google have begun to orbit the world of digital payments, requesting licenses for various financial activities.

However, Apple looks to be fiercer than the competition and now it seems that the die is cast.