With developments transforming the payments ecosystem and new growth prospects for the Greek market in focus, the the Athens Mastercard Innovation Forum 2026 is taking place today, bringing together leading figures from the banking and business worlds once again.
In his opening address, Panagiotis Polydoros, Mastercard’s Country Manager for Greece, Cyprus and Malta, outlined new growth prospects for the Greek payments market, noting that corporate payments still hold untapped potential of up to €15 billion. He also stressed the importance of expanding digital payments in transactions with the public sector, and highlighted younger generations’ need for greater financial education and more personalised banking services.
Setting out Mastercard’s strategic priorities for 2027, he announced that the «Mastercard Day» rewards programme would be extended to petrol stations from November 2026, following its rollout in supermarkets, to help consumers cope with pressure from the rising cost of living. He also discussed the rollout of the cashback at point of sale service, which will allow customers to withdraw cash at the point of payment via POS terminals, expanding consumer choice and creating additional opportunities for businesses and payment providers.
The company’s priorities also include expanding its partnership ecosystem, with a focus on independent software vendors (ISVs), for which a dedicated mapping exercise is planned for 2027. The company is also seeking to accelerate the Click to Pay service, simplifying online transactions and making them more secure at a time when artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly active role in e-commerce.
What the four systemic banks are planning for the future of banking
The changes being driven by artificial intelligence, the rise of neobanks and growing customer demands were at the centre of a discussion featuring senior executives from the four systemic banks: Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank.
Panagiotis Georgiopoulos, Chief Retail Client Strategies Officer at Alpha Bank, stressed the need to keep the human element at the heart of digital transformation. He said technological progress must go hand in hand with a deeper understanding of customers’ needs, simpler and more personalised services, and stronger trust, which remains fundamental to the relationship between banks and consumers.
Iakovos Giannaklis, Deputy CEO, Head of Retail & Digital Banking at Eurobank, highlighted the pivotal role of neobanks, noting that their entry into the market raised the bar for the entire banking sector. Customers are now looking for simpler, faster and more user-friendly services, prompting traditional banks to redesign their digital offering. He said artificial intelligence would be the next major change for the sector, bringing significant benefits in reducing bureaucracy and boosting productivity.
At National Bank of Greece, the digital assistant «Sofia» already fully handles one in three customer requests, while artificial intelligence systems detect eight out of 10 fraud attempts and also reduce false alarms, said Christina Theofilidi, General Manager of Retail Banking at National Bank of Greece. She announced the next step for «Sofia»: the assistant will be able to make bill payments on customers’ behalf, marking a shift from basic digital customer service to AI-powered transactions.
For Piraeus Bank, Vasilis Koutentakis, Executive General Manager, Head of Retail Banking & Distribution Networks, described the acquisition of National Insurance as a strategic move to strengthen the bank’s bancassurance business, clarifying that the insurance company will retain its name and logo. On the future of payments, he noted that Piraeus is participating on a pilot basis in European initiatives for the digital euro, and said the market was moving towards a model in which different infrastructures and payment methods coexist (multirail payments).