It is extended until August 31st the deadline for connecting the professional accounts of freelancers and entrepreneurs to the IRIS direct payment system, as stated in a statement from the Ministry of National Economy and Finance.

It is noted that direct payment services are a very useful solution for citizens to pay no fees for electronic transactions and for freelancers to pay an average of 50% lower commissions compared to transactions using POS. The only instant payment service available to date, IRIS, is rapidly spreading as a payment method in Greece. The login process is extremely simple and can be done by the freelancer himself in just a few minutes.

According to the latest data:

  • Until today in the system 400,000 professionals are registered (more than 180,000 registered this year) out of a total of approximately 800,000 registered professionals.
  • The highest number of connections was recorded on June 27 with 5.9 thousand new registrations.
  • From the beginning of the year until June 27, 191,416 transactions have been carried out on IRIS P2B, a number 11 times higher than last year.
  • The same interval these transactions reached a value of €14.2 million., recording 10 times more value than last year.
  • The product is now offered by 10 banks and two more are expected to be added within the year, reaching a total of 12.
  • It is noted that, in IRIS P2P (for money transfers between friends) the average number of transactions per day was 120 thousand and on May 31 it reached 180 thousand transactions

Easy activation

The activation of the service, whether for individuals or professionals, it is done through the Bank’s mobile app them, with a very simple process. Payments are made only with the recipient’s mobile phone number or QR Code scan, via the Bank’s mobile app. The confirmation of transactions requires the use of biometric data (facial or fingerprint) and confirmation of the recipient’s name before sending. The money is credited within 2 seconds to the recipient, who is immediately informed of the money transfer, as well as the sender’s details.

IRIS has 3 services:

  1. IRIS Person to Person: Direct money transfer between individuals, without commission (up to €500/day).
  2. IRIS Person to Business: For payment to individual businesses or freelancers. The prerequisite is the registration of the professional with a professional bank account. It should be noted that the limit of 500 euros for the professional is per client and not the total amount of money he can receive daily. The customer is not charged for the service, while the commission for the professional is significantly lower than other payment methods.
  3. IRIS Commerce: For payment in online stores, without sharing payment details with the merchant. The order is completed in a few seconds. At the same time, there is no amount limit and no registration is required for the customer.

It is recalled that Law 5072/2023 established the obligation of freelancers and the self-employed to link their professional account to a direct payment system. As, also, to accept immediate payment from any natural person who requests it. Also, natural persons dealing with another natural person providing services (freelancer or self-employed) are entitled to request that payment be made through a direct payment system.

In the next period, AADE will proceed with a gradual notification to the obliged unaffiliated freelancers in order to complete the process within the deadline.

Finally, it is noted that the non-acceptance of direct payments, after the end of the deadline, by freelancers and the self-employed incurs an administrative fine of 1,500 euros.