Significant changes are underway for Greece’s unified instant payments ecosystem, IRIS, as DIAS S.A. moves to position it as the dominant channel for real-time account-to-account transfers, both domestically and across borders, by 2026.
According to a Dec. 16 presentation, daily transaction limits for IRIS will be revised, the system will soon support mobile transfers in nine more European countries, and efforts will continue to simplify in-store payments. Central to this is the “IRIS Everywhere” project, which aims to make Greece the first European country with universal instant account-to-account payment acceptance at all points of sale.
The most popular service, IRIS P2P, lets individuals transfer funds to others—or between their own accounts at different banks—without fees. These non-commercial transfers, typically between friends, currently have a 500-euro daily limit. On average, about 300,000 IRIS P2P transactions occur daily, with a recent peak of 500,000.
Higher limits from January
As announced by the CEO of IRIS, transaction limits for this service will double as of Jan. 15. Individuals will be able to transfer up to 1,000 euros per day, while a new monthly cap of 5,000 euros will be introduced.
From the same date, the separate limit for transfers from consumers to self-employed professionals—used for commercial transactions—will also double to 1,000 euros per day, without any monthly ceiling. It is noted that adoption of IRIS has been mandatory for sole proprietorships since last year.
In-store payments and European reach
IRIS Commerce was upgraded on Dec. 1. Until recently, it supported only online transactions. It now enables all legal entities to accept IRIS payments at their physical stores via card acceptance terminals, with no daily or monthly limits for consumers.
At the same time, DIAS is participating through IRIS in the emerging pan-European instant payments network EuroPA, which brings together 10 countries: Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Andorra.
As noted, IRIS will be technically ready in the first half of 2026 to support cross-border P2P transactions via the EuroPA network. This development marks a shift toward a truly European framework for instant payments, moving beyond national boundaries.
