Greek banks remove instant transfer fees

Greek banks are phasing out transfer fees they have been charging for making instant money transfers within seconds, starting from 1 January. This move stems from a European directive that must be adopted by all European credit institutions in the coming days.

These developments, combined with new government legislation capping interbank money transfer fees, are creating a new landscape for money transfers.

More specifically, in recent days, most banks have now aligned regular priority money transfers with instant transfers.

This means that customers can now use e-banking or m-banking to choose whether money should be credited to the recipient’s account within 2-3 business days or in seconds, with no additional fees for the instant option.

Regardless of their choice, the fee is now exactly the same as the additional fee for instant transfers, which can reach €2.50 depending on the bank, has been abolished.

However, during January, money transfers for amounts up to 5,000 euros will become even more affordable for individual senders.

Specifically, after a state intervention, a cap will be imposed on the fee for each incoming or outgoing transfer for amounts up to the aforementioned limit of 0.50 euros.

This means that once the new maximum fees are implemented, the total fee for an instant transfer of up to €5,000 will not exceed €1. This amount is divided equally between sender and recipient, with each party charged 0.50 euros or borne entirely by the sender, if this is chosen.

The new pricing policy, combined with the options offered by the IRIS service, now makes money transfers between accounts in different banks more affordable for customers.

In particular, through IRIS, which is available via m-banking, it is possible to send up to 500 euros per day without fees.

Bank sources estimate that the domestic market is entering a new period of increased competition among credit institutions in the wider payments sector with the aim of expanding their customer base.