How people pay in Greece in 2026
Greece has moved from a cash-first country to one of the fastest-growing electronic payment markets in the euro area. Card payments reached about €120 billion in 2025, up from €112 billion in 2024, according to the Bank of Greece's 2026 Financial Stability Report as reported by CNN Greece, and cards carried 73% of all cashless payments in the first half of 2025, according to the ECB. The bigger story is IRIS, the instant payment service run by DIAS, the Greek interbank system. In 2025 DIAS processed 126.4 million IRIS payments worth €10.9 billion, and since December 1, 2025, IRIS Commerce has been accepted at every POS terminal and every e-shop in Greece.
Habits are still mixed. Cash remained the most used instrument at the point of sale in 2024, and many online shoppers still pay the courier on delivery. Online, debit cards lead, PayPal is unusually strong, and Apple Pay and Google Pay grow fastest. Klarna and bank card installments cover larger purchases. For merchants, the essentials in 2026 are cards with installments, IRIS, PayPal and the mobile wallets.
- 126.4 million IRIS payments in 2025 (DIAS)
- 73% of cashless payments made by card in H1 2025 (ECB)
- 4.3 million registered IRIS P2P users in 2025 (DIAS)
- 54% of point-of-sale transactions paid in cash in 2024 (ECB via To Vima)
Payment by card in Greece
Cards are the backbone of Greek electronic payments, and almost all of them are debit cards. The Bank of Greece counted 2.511 billion card transactions worth €112 billion in 2024, up 14% in number, with debit cards behind 93% of them and an average ticket of €44. In June 2025 there were 21.6 million active payment cards, 85% of them debit cards, while prepaid cards jumped 39% to 2.4 million as public benefits moved onto cards. In the first half of 2025, Greeks made 1.325 billion card payments worth €57 billion, flat on the previous half as IRIS took share, yet cards still carried 73% of all cashless payments, against 59% in the euro area.
Policy pushed this shift. Greek businesses must accept cards and connect their POS terminals to their cash registers, which Nexi says has driven demand for SoftPOS and integrated terminals. Visa and Mastercard carry nearly every Greek card, so there is no domestic card scheme to support. Fees follow the EU interchange fee caps. Card fraud losses held at €22.6 million in 2025 while card-not-present incidents fell 7%, so strong 3-D Secure flows still matter.
Card schemes in Greece
Visa
International scheme
The leading brand on Greek debit and credit cards issued by the four systemic banks and by neobanks, accepted at almost every terminal and e-shop.
Mastercard
International scheme
The other global scheme on Greek cards, widely used for online purchases, contactless payments and travel.
Debit cards
Debit card
Debit cards linked to current accounts are the default way to pay in Greek shops and online, and debit was the most used online method in the GR.EC.A. and ELTRUN 2026 e-commerce survey.
93% of card transactions made with debit cards in 2024, Bank of Greece via To Vima
Credit cards
Credit card
Credit cards are fewer but matter for higher tickets, because Greek banks let cardholders split purchases into interest-free installments at participating merchants.
186 million credit card transactions in 2024, Bank of Greece via To Vima
Prepaid cards
Prepaid card
Prepaid cards are growing fast as the state pays benefits from agencies such as DYPA and OPEKA onto cards instead of in cash.
2.4 million prepaid cards in June 2025, up 39%, Bank of Greece via newmoney
Payment by cash in Greece
Cash is still deeply rooted in Greece. In the ECB's 2024 survey on consumer payment attitudes, 54% of point-of-sale transactions in Greece were paid in cash, worth 42% of the value, and 50% of Greek respondents said they prefer cash, the highest share in the euro area. Cards already took 47% of point-of-sale value, one of the highest shares in the eurozone, and IRIS acceptance at every POS since December 2025 adds a new cashless option.
Online, cash survives as cash on delivery (antikatavoli), paid to the courier or at the parcel shop. In the Nexi eCommerce Report 2024, 21% of Greek online shoppers had used cash on delivery in the past 28 days and 12% named it their preferred method. The 2026 GR.EC.A. survey finds its use is stable or slowly falling as wallets and IRIS grow, but merchants selling to older or rural shoppers still offer it.
Cash payment methods in Greece
Cash
Banknotes and coins
Euro banknotes and coins remain common for small purchases, at kiosks, markets and tavernas, although legal limits on cash payments and incentives for electronic payments keep pushing usage down.
54% of point-of-sale transactions paid in cash in 2024, ECB via To Vima
Cash on delivery
Cash on delivery
Antikatavoli lets shoppers pay the courier in cash, or sometimes by card, when the parcel arrives, and most Greek e-shops still offer it for an extra fee.
21% of online shoppers used cash on delivery in the past 28 days, 2024, Nexi eCommerce Report via Parapolitika
Payment by bank transfer in Greece
Account-to-account payments in Greece run through DIAS, which processed 540.4 million transactions worth €544.4 billion in 2025. Its IRIS instant payment service is the fastest-growing part: 4.3 million people use IRIS P2P to pay each other by phone number, 583,445 professionals accept IRIS P2Pro, and IRIS Commerce grew 70.8% in 2025. Since December 1, 2025, every POS and e-shop in Greece can accept IRIS, with no transaction limit. Instant credit transfers reached 122.1 million in 2025, 27% of all credit transfers, and in early December 2025 their share hit 40% against a eurozone average of 26.4%.
Bills are paid with RF structured references, and RF/QR payments and standing orders together made up 38.6% of DIAS transactions in 2025. At the end of June 2026 IRIS joined EuroPA, so Greek users can now send money by mobile number to about 57.3 million people in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Andorra, with retail payments planned for 2027. Our guides to instant payments and account-to-account payments explain why these rails matter.
Bank transfer methods in Greece
IRIS Commerce
Instant pay by bank
Customers pay merchants from their banking app by QR code or phone number, at POS terminals and online, with gateways such as EveryPay offering IRIS at checkout.
70,000 e-shops and 1.2 million POS terminals accepting IRIS in December 2025, DIAS
IRIS P2P and P2Pro
Mobile instant payment
The phone-number transfer service built into all Greek banking apps, used between friends and to pay doctors, tradespeople and freelancers, with limits raised to €1,000 a day in January 2026.
111.4 million IRIS P2P transactions in 2025, up 90%, DIAS
SEPA Instant Credit Transfer
Instant payment
Euro transfers settled in seconds, 24/7, which Greek banks must now price like standard transfers under EU rules.
122.1 million instant payments in 2025, up 72.8%, DIAS
RF code payments
Bill payment
Utilities, telecoms, tax and insurance bills carry an RF structured reference that customers pay in e-banking, at ATMs or at branches, and that DIAS routes to the biller.
38.6% of DIAS transactions in 2025 were RF/QR payments and standing orders, DIAS
SEPA Direct Debit
Direct debit
Standing orders and direct debits are used for utilities, telecoms and subscriptions, mostly set up through the customer's bank.
Payment by installment and BNPL in Greece
Greeks have long split larger purchases into interest-free installments on their credit cards, a feature most Greek acquirers and gateways support. Buy now, pay later added an option for shoppers with only a debit card. Klarna's Pay in 3 has been live at public.gr since July 2022 and moved into Public's stores in 2023, when about 1 in 5 public.gr customers chose Klarna. In 2024 Klarna said it worked with 2,500 businesses in Greece, and Skroutz, the largest marketplace, added Klarna to its installment program in June 2024. By February 2026 the Klarna app had 288,000 monthly active users in Greece, up 65% in a year.
TBI Bank, licensed in Greece in 2022, offers point-of-sale financing and BNPL to retailers and, through a deal with Viva, to e-shops. The 2026 GR.EC.A. survey reports growing BNPL use online. From November 2026 the revised EU Consumer Credit Directive brings most BNPL products under consumer credit rules, with affordability checks and clearer cost disclosure.
Installment and BNPL providers in Greece
Klarna
BNPL
Klarna's Pay in 3 splits purchases into three interest-free payments on a debit card, online and in stores, at merchants such as Public, Skroutz, H&M and Cosmos Sport.
288,000 monthly active Klarna app users in Greece in February 2026, up 65% in a year, Klarna via Naftemporiki
Credit card installments
Card installments
Greek banks let credit cardholders pay in interest-free monthly installments at participating merchants, a long-standing habit for electronics, furniture and travel that merchants enable through their acquirer.
TBI Bank
BNPL
The Bulgarian challenger bank offers BNPL and consumer financing at partner stores and e-shops in Greece, including through Viva, after starting operations in Greece in April 2022, and it still listed Greece among its five markets in late 2025.
Payment by digital wallet and X-Pay in Greece
X-Pay wallets are the fastest-growing way to pay online in Greece. In the GR.EC.A. and ELTRUN 2026 e-commerce survey, 34.4% of online shoppers said they use Apple Pay or Google Pay, the largest increase of any method, against 67.3% for debit cards. In stores, contactless is the norm, and Nexi estimated in 2024 that about 20% of transactions in Greece were made with a smartphone or smartwatch.
PayPal has an unusually strong position. In the Nexi eCommerce Report 2024, 49% of Greek online shoppers had used PayPal in the past 28 days and 34% named it their preferred method, ahead of debit cards at 25%, though the 2026 survey sees its use stabilizing. Revolut accounts were used by 19% of online shoppers, a sign of how many Greeks keep a neobank card for online spending.
Digital wallets and X-Pay in Greece
Apple Pay
Mobile wallet
Supported by the main Greek banks and by Revolut, used for contactless payments in stores and one-tap checkout online.
34.4% of online shoppers use Apple Pay or Google Pay, 2026, GR.EC.A. and ELTRUN via CNN Greece
Google Pay
Mobile wallet
The default wallet on Android phones, widely used for contactless payments and supported by Greek banks and gateways.
PayPal
Digital wallet
A long-standing favorite of Greek online shoppers, especially for marketplaces and cross-border purchases.
49% of online shoppers used PayPal in the past 28 days, 2024, Nexi eCommerce Report via Parapolitika
Revolut
Neobank wallet
Many Greeks pay online with Revolut cards and accounts, and Revolut Pay is offered at some European checkouts.
19% of online shoppers used Revolut in the past 28 days, 2024, Nexi eCommerce Report via Parapolitika
Payments in Greece: FAQ
What is IRIS in Greece?
IRIS is the instant payment service of DIAS, built into every Greek banking app. People use it to send money by phone number, pay professionals and, since December 2025, pay at any POS or e-shop. It handled 126.4 million payments worth €10.9 billion in 2025.
What is the most popular online payment method in Greece?
Debit cards. In the 2026 GR.EC.A. and ELTRUN survey, 67.3% of online shoppers said they usually pay by debit card, followed by Apple Pay and Google Pay at 34.4%. PayPal remains strong, and many shoppers still choose cash on delivery.
Is cash still important in Greece?
Yes, in stores. Cash covered 54% of point-of-sale transactions in 2024, and half of Greeks say they prefer it. Online its role is smaller, mostly through cash on delivery.
Can shoppers from other countries pay with IRIS?
Partly. Since the end of June 2026, IRIS is connected to EuroPA, so people in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Andorra can send money to each other by mobile number. Cross-border online and in-store payments are planned for 2027.
Accept local payments in Greece with NORBr
In Greece, acquiring is concentrated in Nexi, Worldline and Viva, with EveryPay and Cardlink online. A PSP, PayFac, ISO or ISV should check installments from all Greek issuers, IRIS Commerce, certified cash register links and Greek settlement.
With NORBr, you can connect any acquirer, PSP or local provider that offers cards, IRIS instant payments, cash on delivery and PayPal. Some are already in our connector catalog; Mapper™ gets the others live in days, and Smart Checkout shows each shopper the right methods. Explore the other #PayWorldTour guides.
Local payment providers in Greece
Viva.com
Acquirer
Athens-founded payment institution turned bank, which merged Viva Payments into Viva Bank in 2025 and offers acquiring, SoftPOS, online checkout and business accounts in 23 European countries.
Covers: Cards, Installments, IRIS, Apple Pay, Google Pay, TBI Bank BNPL
Nexi Greece
Acquirer
The former Alpha Bank acquiring business, 90% owned by Nexi, which serves Greek merchants with POS, SoftPOS and e-commerce acceptance.
270,000+ POS terminals and about 140,000 customers in 2024, CNN Greece
Covers: Cards, Installments, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Worldline Greece
Acquirer
Worldline's Greek subsidiary, built on Eurobank's merchant acquiring business, which became 100% owned by Worldline in May 2026 while Eurobank's network keeps distributing it.
Covers: Cards, Installments, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Cardlink
POS network
Founded in 2004 by Alpha Bank and Eurobank and now part of Worldline, Cardlink runs what it calls the largest POS network in Greece and the Cardlink checkout gateway for e-shops.
267,000+ POS terminals and 25,000 e-commerce businesses in 2026, Cardlink
Covers: Cards, Installments, Apple Pay, Google Pay
EveryPay
Payment gateway
Athens-based gateway with a hosted Payform, plugins for WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, PrestaShop and OpenCart, and IRIS at checkout, plus in-person payments compliant with Greek cash-register rules.
Covers: Cards, IRIS, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Recurring payments
