Only 1 in 5 has got the IRIS system
Just 260,000 freelancers and self-employed people have so far registered in the system of accepting payments through their account, a service supported by IRIS of DIAS Interbanking Systems SA. The number of registered freelancers falls well short of the total number active in Greece – 1.3 million – and the deadline expires at the end of March.
The law obliges freelancers and the self-employed to link their business account to a direct payment system in order to accept immediate payment from any individual who requests it. Also, people dealing with another individual providing services (freelancer or self-employed) are entitled to request that payment be made through a direct payment system.
The fine for freelancers amounts to 1,500 euros – corresponding to the fine provided by law for not installing a POS – and the clock is ticking. The direct payment service has become mandatory since the beginning of the year and means the ability to pay through your account, bypassing the use of a credit or debit card and the POS terminal.
Banks have reduced commissions so as to make the service competitive with plastic money, not exceeding 0.5% of the transaction.
