IRIS Payments Skyrocket as Greece Prepares for EuroPA Integration

Instant payments through the IRIS system have surged dramatically, according to official figures. In 2024, Greece’s interbanking system DIAS processed 467.2 million transactions totaling 501.9 billion euros— a year-on-year increase of 15.1% in volume and 11.6% in value compared to 2023.

A particularly striking trend was seen in instant credit transfers, which soared to 70.6 million transactions in 2024 — a remarkable 92.1% increase over the previous year.

Looking ahead, Greece is set to join the EuroPA initiative in 2025 via DIAS and the IRIS platform. The integration will add IRIS’s 4 million users to EuroPA’s network, bringing the total to 105 million users across 10 European countries: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Andorra.

Greece will roll out P2P services by mid-2026, while the EPI—developer of the Wero system—is in talks with EuroPA for a potential partnership that could speed up the creation of a unified European payments framework.

IRIS is also expanding in the commercial sector, with more than 8,000 businesses and online stores having already integrated IRIS Commerce. With new legislation coming into effect by the end of 2025 requiring all legal entities in Greece — both physical and online — to accept instant payments alongside card payments, a major expansion is expected.

From November 1, 2025, accepting IRIS payments will be mandatory for all businesses and legal entities in the country.

Additionally, a new regulatory decision is expected to raise the daily transaction limit for IRIS payments to 1,000 euros— applying to both private transfers and business payments. Under the updated framework, the daily limit will be 500 euros for IRIS P2P (peer-to-peer) transfers and 500 euros for IRIS P2B (peer-to-business) payments.

IRIS Transaction Statistics

IRIS P2P transactions for the first quarter of 2025 reached 17,518,770 — more than double the 8,836,268 transactions recorded in the same period last year, marking a 98.3% increase. Compared to 2023, the increase was even more staggering — up 465.1% — and against 2022, the jump amounted to 2,174.2%.

Source: tovima.com