How to avoid bank fees – Transactions and money transfers at no cost

Through … in passing, they try to save business consumers, high and frequent fees from various electronic transactions, accompanied bank charges.

While the Ministry of Finance is waiting for initiatives from banking institutions to reduce or eliminate fees, from the list of 12 fees, data from DIAS shows that more and more people are taking advantage of the IRIS system. For those who do not know, these are account-to-account money transfer services. The process is completed within a few seconds and the payee is immediately notified of the completion of the transaction.

More and more people are using the IRIS system

IRIS products include direct money transfers between friends (IRIS P2P), between professionals (IRIS P2B) and online store payments (IRIS e-commerce). According to last year’s report, these remittances registered strong growth rates of 214%, 109%, and 68%, respectively, compared to last year. The number of IRIS P2P users is now 1.4 million (59 thousand new registrations in December 2022) and 85 thousand professionals registered with the IRIS P2B service.

Possibilities offered by IRIS

Smartphone transfer: Users of the service make their money transfers, directly and easily to friends, using the mobile phone number, without knowing the International Bank Account Number (IBAN), as long as they have activated the IRIS service in their bank’s mobile banking. The infrastructure is used to run the service Advice.

The money transfer is completed within seconds and the beneficiary is immediately notified of the completion of the transaction. The user retains the flexibility to send the amount from the bank and account of his choice. The daily transaction limit is 500 EUR. The service is provided by Alpha BankAnd National BankAnd Eurobank And Piraeus Bank.

Registered users so far: 1,376,870

Online purchases: The service provides the possibility of paying for purchases made in an online store, by charging a fee to the payment account via electronic banking or mobile banking.

The transaction is initiated and completed in the company’s electronic environment. The customer controls the payment via the web or mobile banking of the payment service provider of his choice, where a fee is charged to his account. The groups cash ends up as credit for the IBAN that the company holds with the cooperating payment service provider. The group is notified immediately. Alternatively, you can scan a QR code to make the payment. Participation in the service is carried out through the actions of the cooperating payment service provider (Alpha Bank, National Bank, Eurobank, Piraeus Bank, Viva Wallet).

Transactions with the government: The service provides the possibility of repaying debts in the agency’s electronic collection environment, by debiting the payment account through electronic banking services or mobile banking services.

The transaction is initiated and completed in the electronic environment of the public institution. The customer controls the payment via the web or mobile banking of the payment service provider of his choice, where a fee is charged to his account. The groups cash ends up as credit for the IBAN held by the public authority in the cooperating payment service provider. The group is notified immediately. Alternatively, you can scan a QR code to make the payment. Participation in the service is carried out through the actions of the cooperating payment service provider (Alpha Bank, National Bank, Eurobank, Piraeus Bank, Viva Wallet).

commercial transactions: Companies or professionals collect debts from their clients instantly and easily within seconds. Customers make their payments knowing only the company’s mobile phone number or VAT number, without knowing their IBAN. It is enough for both parties to activate the IRIS service in mobile banking. For the convenience of the Customer, the Company may provide the mobile phone number or VAT number in the form of a QR Code to be scanned.

The collection process is completed within seconds and the company or professional is immediately notified of the completion of the transaction. The infrastructure is used to run the service Advice. The company participates in the service through the procedures of the cooperating payment service provider (the service is already provided by Alpha BankAnd National BankAnd Eurobank And Piraeus Bank).

VAT numbers registered to date: 85,828

Overall, transactions made through DIAS posted a double-digit growth rate for the second year in a row. Specifically, in 2022 DIAS settled 368 million transactions, with a total value of €407 billion, compared to €344 billion in 2021.