IRIS Dominates Greek Instant Payments as 70% of Transactions Move to Account-to-Account Tech

Greece’s IRIS payment system is integrating with the European Network for Payments (ENP) to drive cross-border account-to-account interoperability. For fintech professionals, this move signals a major step toward a unified European instant payment landscape, connecting over 57 million users across Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Andorra through a shared interoperability hub.

What was announced

The European Network for Payments (ENP) was established on 30 September 2026 as a joint entity by Bancomat, Bizum, EPI Company/Wero, SIBS-MB WAY, and Vipps MobilePay. This entity will operate a shared interoperability hub designed to connect participating payment solutions across the continent. DIAS, the operator of the Greek IRIS system, is expected to join the ENP, building on existing links established through EuroPA on 30 June 2026. These links already connect IRIS P2P with MB WAY in Portugal, BANCOMAT Pay in Italy, and Bizum in Spain and Andorra.

The initiative aims to scale cross-border peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers initially, with the rollout planned to expand into e-commerce and point-of-sale (POS) payments. According to a new whitepaper titled "Scaling Account-Based Payments in Europe: The IRIS Case," co-authored by DIAS and Capgemini Invent, IRIS has achieved significant domestic scale. In 2025, the system processed 126.4 million transactions worth €10.9 billion, accounting for approximately 70% of all instant payments in Greece. The report highlights priorities for further adoption, including reducing checkout steps for IRIS Commerce and ensuring a consistent user experience across various banking applications to compete with traditional card payments at the checkout. The objective is to make account-to-account (A2A) payments as familiar for shopping as they are for P2P transfers.

"In 2021, we set a clear objective: to transform IRIS from a technically available interbank utility into a payment tool that everyone uses in their daily lives. Five years later, IRIS is used by millions of citizens, professionals, and businesses, and the phrase 'send it to me via IRIS' has become part of our everyday vocabulary. The next challenge is to turn universal availability into active preference at both online and physical points of sale, and to leverage the Greek experience to further develop cross-border instant payments in Europe."

Stavroula Kampouridou at DIAS

The companies involved

DIAS S.A. serves as the national payment system operator in Greece, managing the IRIS brand which has become a dominant force in the country's domestic instant payment market. Bizum is a major Spanish mobile payment solution that has seen rapid growth, recently reaching significant user milestones in its home market. BANCOMAT operates the primary domestic debit card and payment circuit in Italy, while MB WAY is the leading mobile payment service in Portugal, operated by SIBS.

These entities represent a shift away from fragmented domestic schemes toward a collaborative European model. Bizum and BANCOMAT have established significant market presence in their respective geographies, often acting as the primary alternative to international card schemes for P2P and increasingly for retail transactions. The formation of the ENP brings these established national champions together with the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and its Wero wallet, as well as the Nordic-based Vipps MobilePay, creating a consolidated front for account-to-account (A2A) payments that spans Southern, Western, and Northern Europe. This collective reach allows the participating firms to leverage a combined user base of tens of millions to challenge the status quo of cross-border retail payments.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed the consolidation of European payment schemes. We recently covered how the European Network for Payments: Five Giants Unite for Seamless Cross-Border Interoperability to challenge the dominance of global card networks. The growth of these individual schemes has been notable; for instance, Bizum Pay Hits 20 Million Users in Four Months as In-Store Payments Surge Across Spain, demonstrating the appetite for A2A at the point of sale. Furthermore, the integration of these services into the wider merchant ecosystem was highlighted when Ecommpay Simplifies Spanish Market Entry with Direct Bizum Payment Integration. This trend toward simplified cross-border retail is also reflected in broader industry movements, such as when Swift Launches Global Pay-by-Alias Initiative to Simplify Cross-Border Retail Payments.

What this means

The formation of the ENP and the inclusion of IRIS signals a critical turning point for European payments. For years, the industry has discussed the fragmentation of the SEPA region; this move suggests that domestic champions have finally realized they cannot defeat international card schemes alone. By creating a shared interoperability hub, these providers are effectively building a "network of networks" that could finally make A2A a viable competitor to Visa and Mastercard at the physical and digital checkout. The pressure is now on traditional banks to ensure their front-end applications provide the seamless experience required to convert P2P familiarity into retail dominance. This raises questions about how quickly other domestic schemes will feel compelled to join or risk being left as isolated islands in a newly connected European ecosystem.