Digital payments gain ground with Gen Z and Millennials leading the trend

Payments in Greece are on a path of dynamic transformation, with digital payments and e-commerce steadily gaining ground in recent years.

The recent legislative arrangements for the establishment of direct payments (IRIS) with the aim of combating tax evasion has contributed to this direction.

According to Payments Europe figures for Greece, which were presented to journalists by the Senior Director of the Hellenic Banking Union Vassilis Panagiotidis, digital payments exceeded 2.7 billion euros in 2023 and this year they are expected to “break” the barrier of 3 billion euros. Transactions per capita in our country will amount to 296 per year in 2024, compared to 258 last year.

According to the survey, over 70% of Gen Z and Millennials in Greece are expected to use direct payment services in the next year, a percentage that significantly exceeds the corresponding European average (56%).

Cashless transactions tripled in the last five years in our country, while cards (credit/debit) remain the dominant means other than cash as they retain the lion’s share (74%). In value terms, cashless payments reached 1.26 billion in 2023, compared to 760 billion euros in 2018, recording a jump of 65%. It is worth noting that, for the first time in 2023, the value of card transactions exceeded the value of check transactions.

However, despite the increase in the volume of digital payments, cash still plays an important role in the Greek payment ecosystem, as it remains the first choice for consumer payments in activities such as household and gardening. At the same time, cards are the preferred method of payment for all other transactions, such as, for example, for food purchases from a physical store, for the purchase of airline tickets, or for the processing of online purchases. For merchants, card payments are the main source of their turnover (47% vs. 39% for cash payments).