Starting today (30 June 2026), users of IRIS Payments — Greece’s instant payment system — can send money across borders to other European countries using only the recipient’s mobile phone number. No IBAN is required.
A New Era for Instant Digital Payments in Europe
This milestone marks the integration of IRIS into EuroPA (European Payments Alliance), a pan-European initiative coordinated by DIAS — Greece’s national interbank clearing infrastructure. Through this connection, IRIS joins national instant payment schemes such as Bizum (Spain), MB WAY (Portugal), and BANCOMAT Pay (Italy), creating a unified ecosystem for account-to-account payments across the continent.
Initial Coverage: Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Andorra
The first phase of cross-border interoperability enables person-to-person (P2P) transfers between Greece and Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Andorra. It connects 57.3 million citizens across these five countries — with plans to expand coverage to over 176 million people across 18 European countries by year-end.
Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis previously hailed the development as a ‘significant step toward a Europe where payments move with the same ease as people, goods, and capital’.
How It Works
Users can now initiate instant, secure, and low-cost cross-border transfers directly from participating Greek banks and platforms — including Eurobank, Piraeus Bank, and Viva.com. Additional Greek banks are expected to join gradually, broadening access to the EuroPA network.
All transactions comply with the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) framework, ensuring settlement within seconds and meeting strict EU standards for security, reliability, and speed.
What’s Next?
By 2027, the interoperability will extend beyond P2P transfers to include payments at physical and online merchants across participating countries — further embedding mobile-based instant payments into everyday European life.