Greece Tops Eurozone in Direct Payments

Business 11 June 2025 22:37

At the 9th Payments 360 Conference, Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis highlighted Greece’s leading role in digital payments within the Eurozone, crediting the rapid adoption of the IRIS system. He noted that direct payments now make up 25% of all transactions in Greece, outpacing the Eurozone average of 20.9%, CE Report quotes Athens-Macedonia

The IRIS system has been adopted by 3.8 million citizens and 565,000 professionals. In 2024, peer-to-peer IRIS transactions rose by 142.4% from 2023, while payments to freelancers surged by 844%. The IRIS Commerce service, now used by 8,000 e-shops, doubled its transaction volume to 7.3 million.

Hatzidakis emphasized that a homegrown system like IRIS supports Europe’s push for strategic autonomy in fintech. Notably, 65% of IRIS users are aged 18–35, with payments to freelancers increasing tenfold from 2023 to 2024 and fivefold again in the first five months of 2025.

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Greece Tops Eurozone in Direct Payments

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