IRIS payments® – powered by DIAS – is an interbank account-to-account money transfer service that follows the rules of the European SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme.
The IRIS service:
Is supported by DIAS S.A.
Is offered by Payment Service Providers (PSPs) who are members of DIAS.
With IRIS payments®, you can:
Transfer up to €1,000 per day via your mobile device (up to €500 to a private individual & up to €500 to freelancers / sole proprietors), without needing the beneficiary’s IBAN. All you need is the mobile number if sending to a private individual; or the tax ID (AFM) / mobile number if sending to a freelancer / sole proprietor.
Receive up to €500 per day as a private individual without the sender needing your IBAN. They only need to know your mobile number.
Receive payments as a freelancer or sole proprietor with no limit.
Make online purchases from e‑shops (and soon in physical stores) by directly debiting your bank account. In that case, there is no transaction limit.
For personal use (to send and receive funds): register through your bank’s mobile banking app, choose to activate IRIS, and select the bank account into which you want to receive payments.
For freelancers / sole proprietors: ask your bank about available activation methods (web banking or mobile banking). Important: the account you register for receiving payments in this case must be registered in the professional accounts registry of the Greek tax authority (AADE).
For IRIS payments® on a site/app (and soon in physical stores), activation is not necessary. Anyone who has an active mobile banking app or internet banking with any participating bank can make the payment.
Yes. Via mobile banking you can send up to €1,000 per day in total: €500 for personal use and €500 for professional use (to freelancers / sole proprietors).
For IRIS Commerce (payments via site/app, and soon physical stores), there is no transaction limit, and no registration/activation is required.
Yes. However, you will have one primary bank- the bank through which you registered - via which you can send and receive. With other participating banks, you can only send money.
Yes. Using your mobile banking app, you can change the account at any time via the settings of the app.
The P2P (Person‑to‑Person: money transfer between private individuals) & P2B (Person‑to‑Business: to freelancers / sole proprietors) services are already supported by:
Alpha Bank, National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, Piraeus Bank, Cooperative Bank of Epirus, Vivabank, Optima Bank, Credia Bank, Snappi, Cooperative Bank of Thessaly, Cooperative Bank of Karditsa, and Cooperative Bank of Chania.
The IRIS Commerce service (online/app payments, and soon in physical stores) is currently provided by:
Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank, National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, Credia Bank & Vivabank.
You can make payments to freelancers / sole proprietors, e‑shops, or for bills by following this process:
In your mobile banking app, select: IRIS payments > With QR code.
The camera on your phone opens; you scan the QR code and approve the payment.
You can choose which account to debit, and confirm the transaction using biometric authentication.
IRIS P2P is a service that allows private individuals to make instant money transfers to one another for personal use (not for business purpose). The transfers are secure and instant when using banks that participate in the IRIS service.
Open your bank app and select IRIS payments®.
Without needing an account number or IBAN, you can send up to €500 per day to a friend who has also activated IRIS payments®, either by selecting their mobile number from your contacts or by entering it manually.
Tip: when you enter the mobile number, check the (masked) name of the recipient before pressing send, to make sure you are sending to the correct person.
No. The IRIS payments® service for personal (P2P) use is provided free of charge.
IRIS services are offered by DIAS through the participating banks or Payment Service Providers. If there is an error in an IRIS P2P transaction, please contact your bank to submit a request concerning the transaction. Alternatively, you can contact the mobile number to which you mistakenly sent the money and ask for it to be returned via IRIS.
Amounts transferred between private individuals for sharing costs (for example, when splitting a restaurant or café bill) are not considered income.
Only income defined by applicable tax law - such as from employment or provision of services - is taxable.
Example: if a friend covers the bill at a meal and the others send their share via IRIS, those transfers are not taxed. However, it is helpful to include a note/purpose for the transaction (e.g. “meal”, “coffee”, “gift”) and to keep the related receipt.
IRIS P2B allows users to make direct payments to sole proprietors or freelancers in the context of their professional services. Freelancers receive payments from clients instantly and easily. Clients can pay knowing only the mobile number or tax ID (AFM) of the freelancer, without needing the IBAN. To facilitate payments further, the freelancer may provide those details in static IRIS QR form, which the client scans via their mobile banking app.
The payment reception is completed in seconds, and the professional is credited and immediately notified.
You can pay using their tax ID (AFM) or mobile number, or by scanning their static IRIS QR code.
Instant credit of funds into the connected IRIS payments® account, even across different banks.
Immediate liquidity, available 24/7/365.
Instant notification (push notification or SMS / Viber) when the funds arrive.
Flexibility, reliability, and security, without needing extra equipment (like a POS device).
Compliance with Law 5072/2023 and Joint Ministerial Decision 119899/2023 for acceptance of account‑to‑account instant payments.
You can pay for goods or services provided by freelancers or sole proprietors. Under IRIS P2B, payments are made to entities exempted from using electronic fiscal mechanisms, according to Government Gazette B’ 3/05‑01‑2015. Some example professions:
Doctors
Lawyers
Engineers
Plumbers
Electricians
Physiotherapists
Psychologists
Market vendors
For the full list of such professions, see POL 1002/31.12.2014.
The service is free for the payer (client).
For the professional (freelancer / sole proprietor), the fees are competitive compared with other payment methods, and are defined by their contractual agreement with their bank.
Yes. You can have two registrations with the same mobile number: one for personal use and one for professional use. For the professional registration you must provide your tax ID (AFM) and your bank account that is registered for professional use with AADE. Note: you cannot use the professional account for personal use.
The main difference:
IRIS P2P is for payments between private individuals for personal use.
IRIS P2B allows payments from private individuals to freelancers / sole proprietors within a professional/business context.
In that case, your bank provides the option to choose between “personal” or “professional” use before sending the payment.
IRIS services are provided by DIAS via participating banks / PSPs. If there is an error in a P2B transaction, please contact your bank to lodge any request regarding the transaction.
Alternatively, you may contact the mobile number to which you sent funds in error and request a return via IRIS.
IRIS Commerce is a modern alternative for instant payments charged directly from a bank account, both in e‑commerce (e‑shops) and, soon, in physical stores. Through IRIS payments® – powered by DIAS – consumers can complete purchases easily, quickly and securely, using their online banking or mobile banking environment.
The customer needs to be a registered user of a bank’s web banking or mobile banking app, whether purchasing via laptop/desktop or via mobile device.
You can complete the payment via one of the following methods:
Dynamic QR Code:
At the store’s checkout screen, choose IRIS payments® as the payment method.
Select “Generate QR” for scanning via the mobile banking app.
You will be redirected to the secure environment of your bank’s mobile or web banking app; log in using biometrics or your username/password.
Confirm your order details.
Choose the account you wish to debit.
A message confirming the successful transaction will appear, and you will be redirected back to the e‑shop.
Redirection method:
At checkout, select IRIS payments® as the payment method.
Choose your bank from the list of banks for payment via web banking.
You are redirected to the secure environment of your bank’s mobile or web banking app; log in using biometrics or your credentials.
Confirm your order.
Choose the account that will be debited.
You’ll see a confirmation message and return to the e‑shop.
Almost 8,400 online stores already offer IRIS Commerce as a payment method, enabling users to make fast and secure transactions. Starting 1 November 2025, all stores (physical & online) will be required to accept account‑to‑account instant payments such as IRIS payments®.
No, the service is free for the consumer (payer).
Merchants are serviced by banks or Payment Service Providers, who will inform them about any charges applicable based on their agreement.
Yes. From 1 November 2025, under current legislation, all physical stores will be obliged to accept account‑to‑account instant payments, such as IRIS payments®.
No. The IRIS QR code generated is unique to each transaction and has a limited validity period. The customer must scan it using their mobile banking app and then authorise the payment.
Yes. Payments via IRIS P2B and IRIS Commerce are counted toward building the tax‑free threshold provided they are made to professionals or businesses whose activity (business code, “KAD”) is recognized by AADE as eligible for electronic consumer spending. The classification and recording of the transaction is done by the bank through which the payment is made.
Note: IRIS P2P (private‑to‑private) payments do not count toward the tax‑free threshold.
IRIS P2B is for direct payments from private individuals to freelancers / sole proprietors within a professional context.
IRIS Commerce is a service used for instant payments in both online and physical stores, regardless of legal form. In P2B, the transaction is initiated by the individual (payer) to the professional; in Commerce, the transaction is initiated by the business, with acceptance of payment by the consumer.