In an era where digital services are transforming citizens’ everyday lives, the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family, in cooperation with OPEKA and DYPA and funded through the Recovery Fund, has implemented a new method of delivering welfare benefits, allowances, and financial assistance as of March 15, 2025 — through the Prepaid Social Benefits Card.
Designed to simplify processes, enhance transparency, and better serve recipients, the new system creates a more direct and secure relationship between citizens and the state.
The concept is straightforward: one card for all benefits.
Each benefit recipient receives a single prepaid card through which they receive all the financial support they are entitled to. The card is issued by the bank where the recipient already holds an active account and is sent directly to them — free of charge and without any complicated procedures.
The full amount of each benefit is automatically credited to the card, allowing the cardholder to withdraw cash of up to 50% of the amount at ATMs, while the remaining balance can be used for everyday purchases and transactions — from supermarkets and pharmacies to online payments and services. The card can be used both in Greece and across European Union countries, with the exception of transactions related to the purchase of weapons and gambling.
The Prepaid Card is not simply a new payment method. It is a tool specifically designed to cut red tape, reduce tax evasion, and strengthen transparency in benefit payments.
The Prepaid Card aims to streamline bureaucracy, combat financial irregularities, and ensure that every euro reaches its intended recipient efficiently and accountably.
The new system covers a total of 19 categories of benefits and allowances paid by OPEKA and DYPA — ranging from the Guaranteed Minimum Income, birth and child allowances, unemployment benefits, and maternity protection, to a range of support measures for vulnerable social groups (Birth Allowance, Employment Benefit, Special Allowance for Vulnerable Groups, Long-Term Unemployment Benefit, and more).
The participation of five major systemic banks, as well as cooperative banks, ensures the wide-scale implementation and functionality of the measure across the entire country.
The Prepaid Social Benefits Card is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0,” funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
