The establishment of digital transactions in our country makes it easier for citizens and businesses to make and receive payments quickly and securely. In addition, with the initiatives adopted in 2023, electronic payments contributed decisively to reducing tax evasion and securing additional revenues that are returned to society as social policy.
These points were made by the vice president of the government Kostis Hatzidakis speaking today at the 10th Payments 360 conference.
“Electronic payments gradually and in any case quickly, especially from 2023 onwards, have now become part of our everyday life. All of us send money from our computers and mobile phones with speed, ease and security, while professionals and businesses in turn receive payments without delays,” noted Kostis Hatzidakis.
“At the heart of this great transition is without doubt IRIS. The now particularly well-known money transfer service developed by DIAS and supported by the state as a strong alternative for the transactions of citizens and businesses”.
What the data show
According to the data he cited:
- More than 4.6 million citizens are connected to IRIS Person-to-Person and carry out instant transactions between natural persons. These exceeded 111 million in 2025.
- More than 600,000 self-employed professionals and sole proprietorships receive payments instantly through IRIS. Steps need to be taken here for the further spread ofIRIS in relation to its use in this specific sector.
- IRIS Commerce is now universally available both in e-commerce and at physical points of sale, having been integrated into the daily payments of businesses and consumers.
- And the big picture is that in 2025 the value of IRIS transactions reached 10.9 billion euros, up by 70% compared to 2024.
- By now, instant payments represent 27% of all money transfers, that is, more than one in four.
The picture is similar more broadly for digital transactions as:
- The total value of card transactions reached 120 billion euros in 2025.
- The total number of payments soared to 2.7 billion within one year.
- Cards and electronic payments are now used even for very small everyday transactions.
“When I arrived at the Ministry of Finance in 2023, the objective was to move in this direction. Because of course it served consumers, but it also served the state. Because these payments are a tool for greater transparency and less tax evasion.
With all the initiatives we took, with the interconnection of POS with cash registers, with the implementation of MyData, with the digital upgrade of the tax administration, with the possibilities given to us by IRIS ultimately the VAT gap, which was 24% in 2018, is estimated to have fallen to 9% in 2024. That is, below the average of the European Union. Greece, which had the second worst performance in the European Union in the field of VAT, is now above the average of the European Union,” stressed the vice president of the government and added:
“This happened thanks to the determination of the government. To the determination of some people who ignored the reactions and the political cost. I feel proud of this, because in this way additional tax revenues of about 1.8 billion euros were created for 2024 and an additional 2.2 billion euros for 2025. This money is the surplus that is created thanks also to these measures and is returned as a social dividend”.
The vice president of the government also stated that the interconnection of IRIS with other European schemes makes this service available to citizens of other European countries as well. “This is not a technical detail, but a substantial step for European interoperability in payments. IRIS, a tool that started as a purely Greek solution, is today becoming part of a more comprehensive response at the European level, making instant payments accessible for citizens and businesses, practical and transparent,” he noted.
“The government is here and will continue its support in this direction,” concluded Kostis Hatzidakis. “Because Greece must be a modern European country, Greek citizens must feel like first-class citizens within Europe. But also because these tools in practice help in tackling tax evasion and in equality before the law”.