Cashless transactions continue to gain ground

Card transactions increased some 40 percent in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2017.

This marks a continuation of their rapid rise for a fourth consecutive year, following the imposition of the capital controls in 2015. The rise has been boosted by the compulsory installation of card terminals, the dependence of the tax discount on online payments, and the introduction of the receipt lottery as an incentive for taxpayers.

According to figures presented recently at the 5th Digital Banking Forum by Cardlink's commercial director Antigonos Papadopoulos, Greek consumers are using plastic money more and more frequently, even for small transactions, as every other card payment is worth less than 20 euros.

Data showed that transactions up to 10 euros account for 26 percent of all card payments, against 10 percent in 2015, while payments...