The pandemic that erupted around six years ago became a turning point for the digital transformation of Greek banks. During the early stages of the crisis, bank management accelerated the shift to cashless transactions and pushed large numbers of customers—many with no prior digital experience—to adopt online banking services.
The results were striking. Within three years, e-banking registrations rose by 2 million, while more than 95% of transactions moved to electronic channels. Building on this momentum, banks then turned to a new challenge: using e-banking and mobile banking not just for transactions, but as key tools to drive product sales.
Online solutions
Against this backdrop, banks rolled out online products across nearly all categories. They began with simpler, standardized offerings—such as time deposits, credit cards, insurance products and consumer loans—before moving on to more complex solutions, including mortgages and investment products.
At the same time, video consultations with advisors and digital signatures became widely available.
Today, branch visits are largely limited to in-person discussions, while more attractive terms on digital products further encourage customers to opt for online channels.
The case of consumer loans
The success of this strategy is particularly evident in consumer lending. According to banking sources, nearly seven out of ten consumer loans granted last year were issued exclusively through banks’ digital channels, without any branch visit.
In terms of overall market figures, the same sources note that last year 122,738 unsecured consumer loans were disbursed entirely through e-banking and mobile banking platforms.
By contrast, 62,707 unsecured consumer loans were granted via physical branches.
In total, consumer loan disbursements reached 185,445, with a total value of 1.6 billion euros, while in value terms, annual growth stood at 15%.
