The time is running out for some 800,000 freelancers to register with the IRIS system and accept direct payments to their account from their clients. The deadline is less than a week away, but the latest figures (Friday, August 22) show that only 393,000 professionals and self-employed people had gone through the process, or about 50% of those liable.

Those who do not connect to IRIS risk a fine of €1,500. In addition, those who do not register a business account will pay a fine of 1,000 euros. In case of complaints from citizens about non-acceptance of payments with IRIS by professionals, these will be notified for inspection by the tax authorities.

The Independent Public Revenue Authority (AADE) is preparing to send a new personal message to freelancers and self-employed persons ahead of the deadline, and inform them that the compliance deadline has been postponed to Monday 2 September, given that the 31 August deadline is a Saturday.

This is the second mass mailing of warning notices (the first took place on 8 August), as over the summer the daily registration rate reached 427 professionals. In the period from 8 to 22 August (after the sending of the messages by the ADA), the average daily user registration rate in IRIS P2B increased fivefold, reaching 2,173 registrations.

The competent authorities, having the data from the banks at their disposal, will launch sweeping checks to identify the offenders. From the beginning of the year until August 22, the use of IRIS by professionals increased tenfold with about 300 thousand transactions (290,931), while the amount moved through IRIS (for all products) in the same period reached €3.37 billion.

This year, 5 new banks were added to the IRIS P2P (private-to-private) and IRIS P2B service, bringing the total number of banks to 12 from 7 that had it in 2023 and only 4 in 2021.

Easy activation

Activating the service, whether for individuals or professionals, is done through their bank’s mobile app, with a very simple process. Payments are made using only the recipient’s mobile number or by scanning a QR Code, via the bank’s mobile app. Confirmation of transactions requires the use of biometric data (facial or fingerprint capture) and confirmation of the recipient’s name before sending. The money is credited within 2 seconds to the recipient, who is immediately informed about the transfer of the money and the sender’s details.

IRIS has 3 services:

– IRIS Person to Person: immediate transfer of money between individuals, without commission (up to €500/day).
– IRIS Person to Business: for payment to sole proprietorships or freelancers. Prerequisite is the registration of the professional with a business bank account. Note that the limit of €500 for the professional is per client and not on the total amount of money he/she can receive per day. The client is not charged any fee for the service, and the commission for the professional is significantly lower than for other payment methods.
– IRIS Commerce: for payment in online shops, without payment details being shared with the merchant. The order is completed within a few seconds. At the same time, there is no limit on the amount and no registration to the service is required for the customer.

As already announced by the Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis, by March 31, 2025, the direct payment system will be extended to all businesses. The expansion covers the entire range of transactions, both e-commerce and physical commerce. Hatzidakis had also recommended that banks increase the daily limit for consumers to use the IRIS system to 500 euros for transfers to individuals plus 500 euros for payments to businesses, for a total of 1,000 euros a day from the current 500 euros.