IRIS Payments launches cross‑border instant transfers across Europe

IRIS Payments, Greece's account‑to‑account instant payment system, has been linked to the European Payments Alliance (EuroPA), enabling people in Greece to send money instantly to users of comparable services in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Andorra. The first phase, active from 30 June, supports person‑to‑person transfers for 57.3 million European citizens and uses only the recipient's mobile phone number, with daily limits of €1,000 and monthly limits of €5,000.

The rollout plans aim to reach about 176 million citizens in 18 European countries by the end of 2026, with an expansion to online and physical retail payments expected in 2027. In 2025 IRIS processed a record 122.1 million instant payments, a 72.8 % increase from the previous year, but Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis warned that usage remains low, citing roughly 55 000 transactions since the service went live.

Stakeholders highlighted the need for greater merchant visibility, reward schemes and NFC‑based tap‑and‑pay functionality to boost adoption at point‑of‑sale terminals, where IRIS is already available on more than 1.2 million devices.