How to Pay in Greece

A short-stay visitor does not need a Greece-specific payment app.

IRIS is an account-to-account payment service delivered through participating banking apps. It became widely mandatory for Greek merchants, but a visitor without access to a participating bank cannot simply install an IRIS app and pay. Revolut can be useful only when the traveler already has an eligible home-market account and understands that account's fees and limits. Its popularity among Greek residents does not make it a required Greece arrival app.

The Greek tax authority says hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes, car rentals and almost all other suppliers must accept debit, credit or prepaid cards, with limited exceptions such as some taxi drivers and kiosks. Ask to pay by card and request the official receipt. Still carry a modest amount of euro cash for those exceptions, small island businesses, tips and technical failures. Use an ATM attached to a recognizable bank when practical, review the operator fee before accepting, cover the PIN and reject conversion into the card's home currency so the card issuer handles the exchange.

Independent tourist-area ATMs can be convenient but often present expensive conversion and fee choices. Keep two physical cards separately and do not rely only on a phone wallet. For Athens public transport, an eligible contactless Visa or Mastercard, including a supported phone wallet, can pay directly without a transit account. Use one distinct card or device per passenger and keep using the same credential for the journey and fare calculation.