The Ministry of Finance is currently in talks with all parties involved to achieve a reduction in card fees.
The value of credit and debit card payments increased by 12.5% to over 18.8 billion euros in the second quarter (April-June) of 2024.
The number of card transactions increased by 15.2 percent to 629.2 million.
The figures also include transactions made abroad with cards from Greek banks.
Data shows that prepaid card usage is declining, with 12.9% fewer transactions in the second quarter of 2024 than in the same period in 2023.
Debit cards are, not surprisingly, much more widely used: the number of debit cards held by Greek citizens increased by 2.4 percent to 15.9 million, while credit cards increased by 6 percent to 2.9 million and prepaid cards increased by 0.6 percent to 2.3 million. For every transaction made by credit card, eleven transactions were made by debit card.
Greeks are increasingly buying goods and services abroad with their cards. In the second quarter, the number of debit card transactions increased by 29.9 percent and their value by 33.6 percent to 1.7 billion euros, while credit card transactions increased by 25 percent and their value by 20 percent to 332.3 million euros. The value of prepaid card transactions was 61 million euros.
The value of transactions, mainly by tourists, with cards issued abroad increased by 12.5% to 3.3 billion euros.
