When I went 6 years ago nearly all places had card even the tiniest little pizza shops
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I am at Italy now, all shops, cafes etc accepted my card, So not really sure why people on previous comments are having issues of card acceptance. Public transport is now on contactless here at Rome. Also no issues of paying for my €1 espresso with Apple Pay.
I will want to take out a bit of cash when I’m in Italy later thos year. Are most Italian ATMs fee free? I’ve noticed more and more EU countries charging ATM fees for British cards
Bankera is a European app based bank so avoids the non EU card ATM charges.
It’s often non-Italian, non-Euro ones, so you’re not being singled out for oppression. BNL (Banca Nazionale del Lavoro) is the only Italian bank that currently participates in the Global ATM Alliance, which is a global network of banks that waive international ATM access fees. Avoid Euronet ATMs in Italy, Euronet is a widespread ATM network throughout Europe that often places its ATMs in city centres and near touristic areas. While convenient, these ATMs are notorious for charging higher usage fees than banks. They also lure their users into hidden exchange rate margins
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Stick to the main bank ATMs and as the other poster said avoid the “ATM” ones operated by Euronet. You’ll see they’re flooded in tourist / convenient areas and are bright blue/yellow but you’ll be completely mugged off if you use those, avoid them like the plague!
I was in Naples last year and got some € out, I used a local bank ATM (Intenso Paolo or something like that, I don’t remember the exact name but it was a bank) and whilst it had a screen to offer the DCC, always select Euros and decline any offer for GBP so long as the card doesn’t charge, you’ll get the Mastercard exchange rate, which is exactly what happened to me. I don’t have Monzo account but principle will be the same with any other (Metro Bank, First Direct etc - they offer charge-free FX purchaes and cash withdrawals).
I used BNL and Credit Agricole ATMs and both were free. Although both had default options of 50€ to withdraw, and only had 20 or 50€ notes available. Was in Rome and Palermo, Sicily and most places in Sicily had mostly card acceptance (apart from local street vendors) as did everywhere in Rome
Just curious where you found in Rome that didn’t take card, I did Rome for a week with only Apple Pay (was dumb I know) - only issue was at the hotel but they was able to do it with the details instead of pin
Possibly ambiguity in what I meant:
Rome: everywhere took card
Palermo: some street stalls and small souvenir shops were cash only
So all in all, not much cash needed to be used in Italy
Recent trip to North 
Milan - no issues at all. Contactless OK for taxi’s, shops, restaurants, bars, metro, bus - Personal account and Flex
Bergamo - - no issues at all. Contactless OK for taxi’s, shops, restaurants, bars, metro, bus - Personal account and Flex
No cash involved whatsoever. Seamless 
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My Monzo Flex credit card was not accepted at Rome Fiumicino airport for the deposit at the OK Mobility car rental company. Thankfully I had a second credit card but what happened is very bad
Did the staff reject it by looking at it or was it the machine?
They didn’t even try it at the machine. After looking at it they just said “oh it’s a Monzo, we don’t accept it”
Car hire places don’t always accept debit cards so they may have assumed that it was Monzo debit you had.
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You can try show them flex and where it says credit on the card.
I was very clear it was a credit card and not debit. It didn’t make any difference
We go to Italy at least 4 times a year and have never had a problem using monzo. They don’t even say anything about it. Not sure why you think there will be a problem