The capital controls that are in effect in Greece as of June 28 and the three week closure of Greek banks, have caused a significant shift in how Greeks make their transactions.
According to Bloomberg, since June 28 1 million debit cards have been issued to Greek bank depositors. National Bank of Greece SA, the country’s largest bank, has issued 400,000 of those while Alpha Bank SA, another one of Greece’s largest 4 banks, has issued 220,000.
Despite restrictions on cash withdrawals and transfers of funds abroad, debit card transactions within Greece have no such limitation within the capital control regime. As a result many Greeks have resorted to plastic money, including pensioners.
General Manager for Visa Europe, Greece Nikos Kabanopoulos told Bloomberg that there was a 135% increase in debit card transactions, in the first two weeks after June 28.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
