By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

Freelancers face fines of €1,500 and self-employed who, from July 1, will not allow their customers to pay using IRIS system. The obligations of the market do not stop at the supply of POS and its connection to the cash register, and the leadership of the finance ministry takes care to remind it at every opportunity.

The Ministry of Finance also reminds professionals that the direct payment system is also to their benefit as it has much lower fees (for transactions between citizens and up to €500 there are no fees). It is characteristic that the banks in the IRIS system impose commissions between 0.3% and 0.5% when the charges at the POS are multiple, since the intervention of the Ministry of Finance to reduce them to 0.5% only concerns transactions up to €10.

However, the Ministry of Finance calls on the banks to increase the limit of using the commission-free system to €1000/day, €500 for transfers to individuals and €500 for payments to businesses.

To date, approximately 1/3 of liable freelancers and self-employed persons, i.e. 280,000 out of a total of approximately 900,000, have fulfilled the obligation to connect. How slowly the market is beginning to embrace the measure can be seen from the fact that out of 280,000, 125,000 are newly registered from January onwards.

From the New Year until April 30, 111,000 transactions of consumers with businesses were carried out through IRIS in total value, while in the corresponding period last year it was only 1/10 of these, i.e. 11,000

Of course, the “premature” that the Ministry of Finance has caught is not only about facilitating consumers and businesses, but also about “facilitating” public funds. It is estimated that in 2023, the large increase in electronic transactions brought an additional revenue of €500m which was used in tax breaks and allowances.

And a “field of glory bright” opens as evidence shows rapid penetration of the IRIS system.

According to the available data, the total number of registered users exceeds 2.6 million. In other words, 1/4 of the population in Greece has the system on their mobile phone. The vast majority of them, close to 70%, are aged 18 to 34. 405,000 of them started using it this year, an increase of 18.5% in just 4 months.

Businesses are also required to register with IRIS, but they have more time at their disposal, specifically until March 31, 2025, in order to make the necessary technical adjustments and coordinate all those involved (Banks, AADE, DIAS system).

Registration in the IRIS system, regardless of whether it is private individuals or professionals, is done with a very simple process through the mobile app that every bank has.

Payments are made either by typing the recipient’s mobile number or VAT number or even by scanning a QR Code through the bank’s app.

The transfer of money takes place in a few seconds and the recipient is automatically informed about the transfer of both the money and the sender’s details.