Demand for credit card machines soars in year's first couple of weeks

Demand for credit and debit card terminals doubled in the first few days of 2017, as the government's plans to consider only electronic payments toward attaining a tax discount has forced Greeks to start using cards more instead of cash.

Based on demand in the first 10 days of January, it is estimated the number of new card machines will soar to 8,000 per month, against around 4,000 per month last year.

Bank figures show that the number of card terminals installed have now reached 320,000, with a very strong presence in the popular commercial districts of Athens, where 80 percent of the city's retail turnover is recorded.