Use of credit cards in retail food rises in Greece, survey shows

The rise could increase costs of businesses

According to a study conducted by the Research Institute for Retail Consumer Goods (IELKA), an increasing number of Greek consumers are using credit and debit cards to purchase foods. The institute outlines the benefits this has regarding tax evasion, but stressed that it raises overhead cots for businesses. IELKA rated the various ways Greeks transacted with retail food stores-credit or debit cards, cash- and found that the practices reflected the latest developments during the capital controls, with more and more people using cards to buy good. More specifically, the results of its survey revealed that the use of cards jumped to 19.5% from 4.5% on average in a matter of a short period. In supermarkets the rise was from 7.55% to 35%, while in smaller food stores the use of cards rose to 5% from 1%. According to the data, 1 in 2 consumers said they used credit or debit cards more frequently, with the largest increase observed in transactions with credit cards, according to data from the Bank of Greece (BoG). The results show that the growing use of credit and debit cards in retail food will push costs up for businesses, which in turn is expected to adversely affect consumers.