Card Use in Greece 2nd Largest in EU27 Over Past Decade

Greece recorded the second-fastest expansion in card usage among the EU’s 27 member states over the 2015–2024 period, according to a new study by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).

The study highlights a steady decline in overall cash usage, differing intensities of electronic payments across transaction categories, and the continued positive impact of card payments on tax compliance.

According to the IOBE study, card usage has expanded systematically since 2014, following the imposition of capital controls, policies promoting electronic payments, the COVID-19 pandemic, and administrative measures such as the linkage of POS terminals with the tax authority (AADE) in 2024.

Over the decade 2015–2024, the pace of card adoption in Greece was the second-highest in the EU-27. Between 2014 and 2024, cumulative card usage increased roughly 25-fold in terms of transaction volumes and 10-fold in terms of transaction value.

Online payments strengthened not only during the pandemic but also in its aftermath. The share of online transactions relative to in-person payments rose from less than 1:5 before the pandemic to about 1:3 during it, and to roughly 1:2 after the pandemic.

Consumers increasingly use cards for lower-value in-person transactions, while average transaction values remain higher online. In 2022, the value of domestic payments made with Greek-issued cards exceeded cash withdrawals for the first time, with the ratio remaining broadly balanced since then.

While the use of digital payments for in-person transactions remains proportionally higher for goods than for services, recent growth in card payments has been stronger in services, narrowing the gap between the two categories.

More than 40% of digital payment usage now αφορά services, up from less than 20% in 2015, while services account for about 45% of total household consumer spending. Services dominate online transactions, the study found.

Source: tovima.com