Buy Now, Pay Later in Greece: Why It’s Popular and How Merchants Benefit

Learn everything you need to know about Buy Now Pay Later in Greece so you can boost sales, improve cash flow, and meet customer expectations.
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Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has been gaining traction in Greece, with most Greek shoppers preferring this method over credit. BNPL benefits customers and merchants alike. The customer can enjoy greater shopping flexibility, while the merchants can increase sales without lowering prices or taking on direct lending risk.  

Still, the Greek payment economy is specific and has undergone many changes in the last two decades. Understanding the ins and outs of offering BNPL is crucial to successful implementation.

This guide shares all you need to know about Buy Now, Pay Later in Greece, including the market conditions that enable its growth and the regulatory framework. You’ll also learn about the benefits of offering BNPL as a Greek business and the potential friction points during integration.

Key takeaways

  • Greek consumers prefer BNPL over traditional credit. 

The economic crisis left many Greeks wary of credit cards and their high interest rates. BNPL offers fixed, predictable payments without revolving debt, and is thus a safer and more appealing option for consumers.

  • BNPL is becoming a competitive necessity in Greece. 

With the BNPL market growing significantly, customers increasingly expect installment options at checkout. Merchants without BNPL risk losing sales to competitors who offer this payment method.

  • BNPL increases sales and larger orders. 

Splitting payments removes price barriers. Customers using BNPL are less likely to hesitate when prices are higher and may even add more items to their cart. The flexibility and convenience also boost customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

  • Merchants get paid upfront while customers pay over time. 

Most BNPL providers handle the risk. You receive the full amount within a day, and the provider collects installments from the customer. As a result, merchants can improve cash flow and free up resources to focus on other aspects of their business. 

  • Paypercut simplifies BNPL across providers and borders.

Managing multiple BNPL providers can be challenging, but Paypercut makes it effortless. One integration connects you to various BNPL providers in Greece and beyond. Customers choose their preferred option, you get paid upfront, and expansion into new markets doesn't mean starting from scratch.

How Buy Now, Pay Later works

BNPL allows you to offer deferred payments to your customers. With BNPL, customers can split payments into smaller, more manageable installments and pay them off according to a set schedule.

Depending on your provider, you may be paid upfront or receive the funds as the customer pays. Some merchants require a down payment, which is typically 25% of the total cost. In rare cases, merchants may also charge interest for longer repayment terms, high-value items, and late payments. 

To enable BNPL, you first need to integrate a provider into your payment gateway. Your customers can then select the BNPL option at checkout. If the customer passes the provider’s risk check, they’ll receive the product or service. The provider automatically deducts installments as agreed until the full cost is covered.

Buy Now, Pay Later in Greece: Market analysis

BNPL’s popularity has been rising around the world. Greece is no exception—the BNPL market has seen an impressive yearly growth of 39.4% from 2022 to 2025. Forecasts indicate that this trend will continue. The BNPL sector should reach 1.26 billion USD by the end of 2031, growing at 18.1% annually.

As in the rest of Europe, BNPL in Greece is particularly common among younger consumers, particularly Millennials and Gen Z.

At the moment, key BNPL providers in Greece include:

  • TBI Bank — one of the most established installment providers in Greece, widely used in e-commerce and retail
  • Klarna — International BNPL player expanding consumer adoption through flexible pay-later options
  • Snappi — New digital banking entrant exploring installment-oriented consumer finance
  • Banks like NBG and Piraeus — Traditional banks increasingly offering installment-style products through cards and digital channels
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Why is BNPL popular in Greece?

To understand how BNPL became so prevalent in Greece, it helps to look at the recent evolution of Greece’s payments market. 

Greek consumers used to rely heavily on cash until 2015, when the country introduced strict capital controls to help stabilize its financial system. These measures, which lasted for years, lowered the daily ATM withdrawal limit to €60. As a result, payment cards and digital payments became more widespread. 

But the capital controls were just one part of a larger economic crisis that reshaped how Greeks view debt and credit. Between 2008 and 2016, Greece's economy contracted by nearly 30%. Unemployment peaked, and many individuals and businesses fell behind on their loan payments.

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This situation left a lasting mark on both Greek banks and Greek consumers. Banks became cautious about extending new consumer credit, and interest rates on credit cards remained high.

After the COVID pandemic and the digitalization boom that followed, interest-free BNPL emerged as a more attractive alternative to credit. Today, over 50% of Greek consumers prefer BNPL over credit cards.

BNPL regulation in Greece

BNPL in Greece currently operates under broad regulations, including the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, and Bank of Greece laws. 

In response to the increasing popularity of digital financial services, fintechs, and BNPL, Europe has issued the second Consumer Credit Directive (CD2). This revision applies to BNPL payments and aims to protect consumers by:

  • Mandating transparency about the payment terms
  • Establishing a 14-day withdrawal right without penalty and with mandatory reminders
  • Requiring credit checks to prevent over-indebtedness
  • Prohibiting advertisements and exploitative behavior, such as product bundling

Greece was set to transpose the old and new directives by 20 November 2025, but the deadline was extended to the same date of the following year.

BNPL: Top 5 benefits for Greek merchants

Until recently, only giant corporations could offer installment payments, but the market has changed and become more level. Even small merchants in rural areas can offer BNPL today without the legal or financial overhead. 

Greek merchants have a lot to gain by providing installment payments to their customers. Here are five reasons to consider BNPL:

1. Boosts sales and order values

The Greek economy is recovering, but it’s still sensitive to price hikes, so consumers are cautious. Since BNPL makes costs less intimidating, customers are more inclined to pay them and less likely to abandon their carts. In turn, BNPL helps improve overall sales volume.

BNPL also increases the average order value. When they don’t have to pay the full price upfront, customers can access higher-value goods.

2. Improves your liquidity

By increasing sales volume and average order value, BNPL ensures a more stable influx of funds, higher revenue, and more capital for operational costs and inventory. This is especially true today, when most providers, including TBI Bank, pay you the full amount the next day instead of requiring you to wait months and risk non-payment.

Cash flow is often a struggle for SMBs in Greece, but BNPL gives them a better chance to succeed, grow, and overcome unexpected crises.

3. Broadens your customer reach

BNPL makes your products and services accessible to more people. This benefit is particularly significant in Greece, where many individuals are credit-averse as a result of the financial crisis. BNPL appeals especially to a younger, digitally oriented generation, which makes up the majority of BNPL users in Greece.

4. Enhances customer satisfaction

When integrated well into the payment process, BNPL offers customers flexibility and convenience. BNPL could be the reason a customer chooses you over other merchants, and it also increases the likelihood of repeat purchases. Overall, BNPL can help improve your brand perception, reputation, and customer loyalty.

5. Serves as a promotional tool

BNPL is a major selling point for merchants. When a potential customer sees that you offer BNPL in your marketing materials or on your product pages, that could encourage them to make a purchase. 

Providing BNPL could be the competitive edge you need to stand out in a crowded market. That said, as BNPL becomes increasingly popular in Greece, it may become a necessity rather than a nice-to-have.

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What to consider before implementing BNPL in Greece

Integrating BNPL comes with specific risks and challenges.

When prices are more accessible, shoppers are more likely to impulse-buy and regret their purchases. In Greece, consumers have the right to cancel orders, return items, and request refunds within 14 days of purchase. With BNPL, issuing refunds can be more complex than with other methods.

Additionally, BNPL comes with higher transaction fees than other methods, including digital payments via IRIS, debit cards, and credit cards. You also need to account for setup and maintenance fees, which vary among providers.

Offering multiple BNPL options at checkout allows you to appeal to more customers, but navigating different providers, their contracts, terms, and pricing can be challenging. 

Paypercut solves this problem. It’s a BNPL aggregator that lets you connect with multiple providers through a single integration, whether you operate in Greece or across borders.

Paypercut: Effortless BNPL in Greece and beyond

Paypercut is a payment platform and BNPL aggregator that specializes in Central and Eastern European markets. You only need to integrate your payment gateway with Paypercut, and you can connect with various BNPL providers. Managing them is also easy with Paypercut’s clean dashboard.

There’s no need to worry about compliance and technical requirements, as Paypercut has done all the hard work for you. It handles all the paperwork and simplifies integrations with user-friendly APIs and ready-made integrations for Shopify, WooCommerce, and OpenCart. You can quickly start offering BNPL to your customers, and provide them with a fast, convenient experience in local currency and language. 

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Paypercut benefits your business in many other ways:

  • Offer multiple payment options: You can accept BNPL and many other methods, including cards, e-wallets, QR codes, and payment links.
  • Expand to other markets: You’re not limited to Greece. You can sell in 20+ other European countries and accept and hold 12+ currencies other than the euro. If a country has limited BNPL options, Paypercut can step in as a provider.
  • Reduce operational risk: BNPL providers in the Paypercut network handle credit assessment, installment collection, and repayment management, while Paypercut simplifies access to these providers through one integration. 
  • Pay as you go: You only pay per transaction. There are no setup, monthly, or additional provider fees.
  • Earn from partnerships: You can receive a revenue share of transaction fees by helping onboard other merchants.
  • Get real support: If you have a question or concern, Paypercut’s regional experts are here to help.

Contact Paypercut today and make the most of BNPL while minimizing risk.

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