Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis has highlighted the rapid growth of IRIS, Greece’s instant payment system, and its significant contribution to reducing banking transaction costs. In a social media post, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that one of the most frequent questions he received when he took over the Finance Ministry in 2023 concerned bank fees and charges.
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Hatzidakis: “We went from ‘what is IRIS?’ to ‘I’ll send it to you via IRIS'”
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, whenever he suggested IRIS as a solution to high banking fees, the response was often: “And what is IRIS?” — with many people also approaching the initiative with skepticism.
Three years later, he says, the picture has changed completely, with IRIS now fully embedded in citizens’ daily lives. “We’ve gone from ‘what is IRIS?’ to ‘I’ll send it to you via IRIS,'” he stated. Hatzidakis noted that in 2025 alone, 126.4 million transactions were carried out through IRIS, totalling €10.9 billion in value, while presenting data that illustrates the platform’s remarkable growth since 2023.
Kostis Hatzidakis’ full post
“‘What is finally going to be done about bank fees?’ That was one of the questions I received most often when I took over the Finance Ministry in 2023. And when, in response, I highlighted the advantages of IRIS, it was usually followed by a second question: ‘And what is IRIS?’ Of course, there were also quite a few people who approached the effort with suspicion. I persisted nonetheless.
Three years later, we’ve gone from ‘what is IRIS?’ to ‘I’ll send it to you via IRIS’! The numbers speak for themselves: in 2025 alone, 126.4 million transactions were completed through IRIS, with a total value of €10.9 billion.
Most importantly, though, it’s worth looking at just how much has changed since 2023, when — in my capacity as Finance Minister — I contributed to the effort to promote IRIS more widely:
- 2.2 million citizens had activated IRIS by the end of 2023. Today, that number has reached 4.75 million — an increase of nearly 100%!
- Registered self-employed users have quadrupled: from 155,000 then to nearly 600,000 today.
- Person-to-person transactions have increased more than fivefold: from 20.4 million in 2023 to 111.4 million in 2025.
- At the same time, IRIS is expanding into both e-commerce and physical retail. In 2025 alone, it recorded 12.4 million transactions worth €4.76 billion.
None of this happened on autopilot, of course. As Finance Minister, I embraced this initiative wholeheartedly. We expanded its use from self-employed professionals to businesses, and then introduced further measures to raise the daily transaction limit. All of this was combined with a series of initiatives we undertook to reduce or eliminate key banking fees.
What do those who once doubted IRIS have to say now? Personally, I am especially pleased to have contributed to this effort from my position as Finance Minister — an effort that continues. Towards even simpler transactions, fewer costs for citizens, and an economy that makes ever-greater use of the possibilities that technology has to offer.”
