Greek IRIS digital payments system expands across Europe via EuroPA
The Greek instant‑payment platform IRIS, promoted by Finance Minister Kiriakos Pierrakas, now supports more than 4.6 million citizen users and 600 000 free‑lance professionals. In 2025 its transaction volume reached €10.9 billion – a 70 % rise year‑on‑year – and inter‑bank settlements amounted to €544.4 billion, equal to 2.2 times Greece’s GDP.
Through the European Payments Alliance (EuroPA), IRIS has been linked with counterpart services in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Andorra, allowing customers of Piraeus Bank, Eurobank and other Greek banks to send and receive money abroad free of charge using only the recipient’s mobile number. The first phase covers person‑to‑person transfers and is set to expand to 18 European countries and to merchant payments by 2027.
Government officials highlighted the system’s role in speeding commerce, improving tax compliance – the VAT gap fell from 24 % in 2018 to 9 % in 2024 – and generating additional public revenue of €1.8 billion in 2024 and €2.2 billion in 2025.