Greece's IRIS instant‑payment system records €11 billion in transactions

The Bank of Greece’s IRIS instant‑payment platform is projected to handle 126.4 million transactions worth about €11 billion in 2025. By the first half of 2026 the system processed roughly 330 000 point‑of‑sale transactions valued at over €14 million, with 4.6 million registered users and more than 600 000 professionals using the service.

A decree effective 1 December 2025 made acceptance of A2A payments mandatory for all legal entities, positioning Greece as the first EU country with universal instant‑payment acceptance in both physical and online stores. The “IRIS Everywhere” programme expanded the network to around 70 000 e‑shops and 1.2 million QR‑enabled POS terminals, creating the largest A2A acceptance infrastructure in Europe on a per‑capita basis.

IRIS is now linked to the EuroPA network, enabling cross‑border mobile‑number transfers to Spain, Portugal and Italy, with plans to cover 18 European countries by the end of 2026. Daily limits for P2P and P2Pro transfers were doubled in 2026, and the instant‑payment ratio reached 35.8 % in June 2026, matching the Eurozone average. The platform’s growth supports the EU’s strategy to reduce reliance on non‑European payment providers and to boost domestic economic activity.