How do people in Greece pay online?
Most Greeks shop online. Eurostat puts the share of people who bought something online in the previous 12 months at 68.00% in 2025, against an EU average of 73.56%. Nexi Greece’s annual e-commerce report, based on a survey of 2,604 internet users carried out by Teleperformance, found that 97% of internet users buy online and estimated online spending at EUR 29.4 billion in 2024, led by travel and accommodation at EUR 9.1 billion.
Debit cards lead at checkout. In Nexi’s 2024 report, as summarised by Naftemporiki, 57% of online shoppers paid by debit card, up from 9% a year earlier, 49% with PayPal, 21% by cash on delivery, 20% by credit card, 19% from a Revolut account and 17% with Apple Pay or Google Pay. Visa and Mastercard are the card brands, and card payments are confirmed with the issuer’s authentication step.
IRIS is the local account-to-account option. It is run by DIAS, the Greek interbank systems operator. DIAS processed 122.1 million instant payments in 2025, up 72.8%, and IRIS Commerce transactions rose 70.8%. By the end of 2025, IRIS Commerce was available at about 1.2 million card terminals and 70,000 e-shops, where it appears as an IRIS option at checkout and the shopper approves the payment from their bank.
What rules shape online payments in Greece?
Businesses must offer IRIS. Greek legislation requires businesses to offer IRIS as a payment option to consumers, and payment providers told merchants that the deadline was 1 December 2025. The rule covers online and in-store sales. It applies to legal entities and sole proprietors operating in Greece, and in practice is expected to focus on merchants with a Greek VAT number or permanent establishment; foreign sellers should check with a tax adviser.
VAT is 24%, with reduced rates of 13% and 6%. Rates are 30% lower on some Aegean islands. A seller established in another EU country whose cross-border sales to consumers across the EU pass EUR 10,000 a year charges Greek VAT on sales to Greek customers, and can declare it through the One Stop Shop. Greece has also made e-invoicing between businesses mandatory, through the myDATA platform: from 2 March 2026 for entities with gross revenue above EUR 1 million and from 1 October 2026 for all others, with a transition period to 31 December 2026.
Shoppers have 14 days to withdraw. As across the EU, a consumer who buys online can cancel within 14 days of delivery without giving a reason. EU Directive 2023/2673 adds a withdrawal button from 19 June 2026: a clearly labelled online withdrawal function, a confirmation step and an acknowledgement on a durable medium.
Payments follow EU rules. Online card payments over EUR 30 generally need strong customer authentication with two separate factors, and traders cannot charge a fee for paying with a consumer debit or credit card issued in the EU.
How would Omno route payments in Greece?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency, amount and customer group. In Greece:
- Card pay-ins would be routed by rules on card type, issuing country and amount, and if a provider is unavailable or rejects the request, the payment would move to the next provider in the rule until one accepts.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay would sit on the hosted checkout next to the card form, following the same card routing rules.
- IRIS pay-ins would go to a provider connected to an IRIS acquiring bank, with the order pending until the bank confirms.
Webhooks would report the final status of every payment, the record a back office should trust before shipping an order, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why. Cash on delivery stays with the merchant’s courier and is outside payment routing.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for debit cards and wallets first. They are what most Greek online shoppers use, so a short card form with Apple Pay and Google Pay covers the largest group.
Plan for IRIS. If you operate in Greece with a Greek VAT number, offering IRIS at checkout is a legal requirement, and acceptance runs through a Greek acquiring bank.
Plan for e-invoicing and the withdrawal button. Greek entities issue invoices through myDATA, and every checkout that sells under the 14-day withdrawal right needs a visible online withdrawal function.