The Minister of Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis, speaks on Facebook about the benefits of the IRIS system through which direct payments are made without bank fees, urging everyone to use it.

Mr. Hatzidakis writes:

“Have you ever heard of the IRIS system? It’s a system for trading without bank fees! With the mobile phone.

This system started to spread rapidly in Greece! And it is useful for every citizen. With direct payments (IRIS), transactions are carried out in a very simple way, immediately in just a few seconds, from the user’s mobile phone, filling in only the mobile phone or the VAT number of the recipient of the payment. The transaction limit is 500 euros per day.

The figures released show the spread of IRIS:

  • By the end of 2023, 2.2 million citizens had activated the IRIS service, i.e., more than quadrupled compared to 2020.
  • Young people especially (18-34 years old) have “embraced” this new payment method (70% of all users).
  • 155,000 freelancers have signed up to the service and 3.5 thousand merchants/eshops. In both of these categories, there is a large increase compared to previous years.
  • A correspondingly large increase is also recorded in transactions. In particular, in transactions with professionals, the increase is 300% compared to 2022.

Recognizing the advantages of IRIS, with the law we passed on loans and the banking system, we established the obligation for self-employed professionals to link their business account with the IRIS service by January 31, 2024 and to accept direct payments from whoever ask for it. We brought a similar obligation for merchants who are already required to own a POS.

In addition to ease of use and avoiding commissions, we believe that this initiative will also contribute to the fight against tax evasion.

IRIS is a service everyone deserves to activate!”