Despite the digitalization of the economy and the growth electronic transactionsGreeks compared to other countries EUROPEAN UNION. they seem to still prefer cash. However, in recent years, our country has seen impressive growth in transactions with cards and everything electronic payments and even among the highest in the EU. According to her ECBcard payments account for 33% by the number of transactions and 43% by their amount. A particularly important element emerging from her recent report TTE is that the average transaction value has decreased, mainly for debit card transactions, to 49 euros from 50 euros in 2021.

According to the data, the total number of payment card transactions in 2022 reached 1.930 billion, up from 1.658 billion in 2021, an increase of 16%.

Debit cards are the main substitute for cash, accounting for 92% of the total number of transactions with all types of payment cards. Credit card transactions reached 154 million compared to 135 million in 2021, up 14%. Credit cards accounted for 8% of total transactions.

In 2022, 33% of transactions were made by card, representing 43% of the total value of purchases.

However, in a number of countries, the majority of settlements at points of sale (stores, etc.) in 2022 were still carried out in cash. The highest shares in terms of the number of such payments were observed in Malta (77%), Slovenia (73%), Austria (70%) and Italy (69%), and in terms of the amount of payments – in Malta (65%). ) ), in Lithuania (61%) and Slovenia (59%). Card payments were the most commonly used method for shopping in stores and services in 2022 in four eurozone countries: Finland (70%), the Netherlands (67%), Luxembourg (52%) and Belgium (48%). In Estonia, the share of card payments was almost the same as the share of cash (both 46%).

Of course, the use of cash is limited from year to year, and the customs authorities have already set limits on the amount of money that you can carry with you on a trip. According to the law, every natural person entering or leaving the European Union and transferring more than 10,000 euros in cash must declare this amount to the competent authorities of the Member States. If the amount is less than 10,000 euros, he is not obliged to declare it. In Greece, the control of cash flows has been delegated to the customs authorities.