Electronic payments are constantly gaining ground in our country comparing to cash. This shift has been intensified during the pandemic, creating the need for these payments to be completed immediately all days and hours of the year. An electronic payment must be completed, cleared, just like when we pay in cash (Naftemporiki, 2021).

The use of cards occupies a share of 52.6% in the cashless payments made in Greece, exceeding`  1 the corresponding European average which is around 49%. The Report of the European Payments Council entitled “The Greek payment landscape”, which records pan-European the course of cashless payments, finds that in Greece card payments increased by 24.9% in 2019 compared to 2018 (November 2019). The use of web banking in Greece has been increased significantly by 59.4% since the previous year, with payments via electronic money accounting for 3% of the “pie” of moneyless transactions. The same percentage for Europe amounts to 3.6%, indicating the jump that Greece has recorded in payments outside a physical bank branch (Malliara, 2019).

With the growing popularity of card payments or other alternative methods, it is not surprising that the number of POS acceptance terminals has been increased by 20% (by approximately 376,000 terminals) from 2018 to 2020, in a number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, with the corresponding increase in Greece reaching 17% (by approximately 116,000). For all countries, the number of POS from 2018 to 2020 has been increased with the Czech Republic (49%), Albania (40%), Ukraine (31%) and Romania (25%) recording the highest increase. Greece is the market with the highest POS distribution for 2020, which is estimated at 76,132 per million inhabitants. In this context, it seems that POS terminals used to accept electronic payments have recorded significant demand in recent years due to their ease of use, increased electronic payments, improved return on investment and – in some cases – due to legal obligations (Fortunegreece, 2021).

Apart from POS payment methods, which are usually connected to a bank, Greek businesses have also started using other effective methods of cashless payments, to serve their customers.

• PayPal is an online payment gateway that handles money transfers over the Internet. PayPal serves as an online alternative to traditional methods such as checks and payment orders. PayPal requires no additional (possibly costly) security or encryption measures for company’s website, it is an internationally recognized service and trusted payment platform and, finally, everyone can pay with a credit or debit card, even if they do not have a PayPal account.
• Skrill, like PayPal, is an online payment gateway that handles money transfers over the Internet. Its advantages are the exchange rate, offering payments in 40 currencies and 200 countries; it has an established presence in the European Union, and it offers the Skrill VIP policy, in case your business’ transactions exceed € 6000 within a quarter, you automatically receive the privileges of your Skrill VIP account.
• The Greek company Viva Wallet is an electronic money institution licensed by the Bank of Greece. It provides businesses with almost all the services provided by the services, but it also has some that make it stand out. The most important additional benefit is the ability to use POS (Point of Sales – cash register) for trade stores and service companies, which is connected to your e-wallet and allows you to accept electronic payments to your trade or service company (Ergoq, 2021).

References

ErgoQ. (2021). Ηλεκτρονικές πληρωμές επιχειρήσεων. (Electronic business payments) ErgoQ. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://ergoq.gr/ilektronikes-pliromes-epichiriseon-emporiou-ke-ipiresion/

Fortunegreece. (2021, November 29). Η Ελλάδα αποτελεί την αγορά με την υψηλότερη κατανομή pos για το 2020. (Greece is the market with the highest pos allocation for 2020.)   Fortunegreece.com. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.fortunegreece.com/article/i-ellada-apoteli-tin-agora-me-tin-ipsiloteri-katanomi-pos-gia-to-2020/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9HEzK7M22Q

Malliara, N. (2019). Άλμα στις πληρωμές χωρίς μετρητά στην Ελλάδα. (Skyrocketing in cashless payments in Greece) Capital.gr. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.capital.gr/oikonomia/3399797/alma-stis-pliromes-xoris-metrita-stin-ellada

Morfidis, S. (2022, January 31). Παγκόσμιο ψηφιακό όνειρο $2 δισ.: Η JP Morgan επενδύει στην ελληνική Viva Wallet. ($2 billion global digital dream: JP Morgan invests in Greek Viva Wallet) ProtoThema. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/1206748/pagosmio-psifiako-oneiro-2-dis-dolarion-i-jp-morgan-ependuei-stin-elliniki-viva-wallet/

Naftemporiki. (2021). Ηλεκτρονικές πληρωμές: Τι αλλάζει από αύριο. Ειδήσεις από την Ελλάδα και τον Κόσμο. (Electronic payments: What changes from tomorrow. News from Greece and the World) Βίντεο, multimedia, Χρηματιστήριο, Πρωτοσέλιδα. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://m.naftemporiki.gr/story/1809591/ilektronikes-pliromes-ti-allazei-apo-aurio