In her address, DIAS CEO Stavroula Kampouridou highlighted the role of the media as a critical link in the payments value chain, noting that information, understanding and trust are essential prerequisites for transforming any national payments infrastructure into a daily practice for citizens and businesses alike.

DIAS within the payments ecosystem

DIAS has evolved into a payments service provider of pan-European standards and a technological pillar of the Greek financial system.
The company’s strategic priorities are stability, innovation and reliability.

In 2025 alone, 540 million transactions, with a total value of €520 billion, are expected to be processed through DIAS interbank services.

IRIS: A unified instant payments ecosystem

IRIS is Greece’s instant payments service and includes:

• IRIS P2P: person-to-person payments
• IRIS P2Pro: payments to self-employed professionals and sole proprietors
• IRIS Commerce: payments at physical and online merchants

“IRIS Everywhere” – A major new milestone

As of 1 December 2025, IRIS Commerce is available at every POS and every e-shop in Greece. Supermarkets, restaurants and pharmacies currently record the highest IRIS Commerce transaction volumes at physical points of sale. Greece becomes the first country in Europe to achieve universal acceptance of Account-to-Account instant payments across all points of sale, within such a short time frame.

IRIS by the numbers

• During the first half of December, instant payments accounted for 40% of credit transfers in Greece (IP ratio), exceeding the Eurozone average of 26.4%.
• By the end of 2025, 120 million IRIS transactions are expected, with a total value of €11 billion, of which €4.5 billion via IRIS Commerce.
• 4.25 million registered IRIS P2P users, with up to 500,000 transactions per day.
• 580,000 professionals using IRIS P2Pro, with up to 15,000 transactions per day. The most active professional categories include physiotherapists, dentists, dermatologists and engineers.
• Presence at 1.2 million POS terminals and 70,000 e-shops through IRIS Commerce.

What changes for merchants and consumers
For merchants

• Competitive pricing compared to other payment methods
• Service quality ensured by DIAS, through a Greek-built payment solution
• Instant settlement (to be implemented in 2026)

For consumers

• Easy payments via mobile banking, particularly for online purchases
• Instant execution and confirmation of transactions
• A Greek, secure payment solution with zero fraud rates
• A consistent payment experience everywhere – from small shops to large retail chains and e-shops

The shared QR logic of IRIS Commerce & RF/QR

• Both IRIS Commerce and DIAS’ RF/QR service are based on the QR code scanning logic as the entry point for payment initiation.
• While they are distinct services with different operational implementations, they share a common philosophy: a simple, fast and familiar user experience.
• Using QR codes as an entry point reduces complexity for consumers and supports the adoption of digital payments.
• This shared QR-based approach reflects DIAS’ consistency in designing innovative payment services.

IRIS Commerce & IRIS P2Pro – key differences
Purpose of use

• IRIS P2Pro: payments to self-employed professionals and sole proprietors
• IRIS Commerce: payments to businesses with legal entity status

Service activation

• IRIS P2Pro: activation required by both the customer and the professional through their bank
• IRIS Commerce: no registration required for the payer – mobile banking access is sufficient

Transaction limits

• IRIS P2Pro: up to €500 per day per individual (soon increasing to €1,000)
• IRIS Commerce: no transaction limit for either customers or merchants

Technological neutrality and the role of the State

Following the mandatory acceptance of card payments via POS, during the period 2024–2025 the State implemented targeted measures to support instant payments, applying the principle of technological neutrality:
cards remain, instant payments are added, and choices for citizens and businesses are expanded.

The future of IRIS

DIAS is proceeding with further optimization of the user experience, increasing transaction limits to €1,000 for both P2P and P2Pro services on 15 January 2026, and integrating IRIS into the European EuroPA network, initially with the P2P service, within the first half of 2026.

IRIS Everywhere is not simply a new payment method, but another step towards a shared Greek digital “payments language” for citizens, professionals and businesses.