Every third Greek receives a salary in cash

Until now, 33% of Greek workers receive 25%-70% of their income in the form of cash. This is the highest figure in the Eurozone, demonstrating a significant level of tax evasion.

Such data was presented by the ECB, which studies the trends in payments by European citizens. According to his research, cash is still the dominant means of payment in the Eurozone, although it is declining due to the spread of electronic transactions. According to the ECB, the share of electronic payments in Greek consumer transactions increased from 7% in 2019 to 19% in 2022 in terms of the number of transactions and from 11% to 27% in terms of their value. And at the same time, 11% of Greeks claim that they receive up to a quarter of their income in cash.

For comparison: the average for the Eurozone is 5%. 8% of employees claim that they receive half of their income in cash, another 9% say that they receive more than 3/4 of their income in cash. In the Eurozone, 5-25% of workers receive from 1/4 to 3/4 of their income in cash, and in Greece – 33% (up to 39%, including those who say they do not know). The lowest percentage of citizens who are paid in cash is in Finland, where only 5% receive part of their income in cash. edition Kathimerini.

The ECB survey on consumer attitudes towards payments in the euro area began in 2021 and ended in 2022. Its results were compared with analyzes conducted in 2019 and 2016. survey. The findings confirm the growth of electronic payments and the parallel decline in cash in all eurozone countries:

1. Cash was used for 59% of transactions, up from 79% in 2016 and 72% in 2019.
2. Cash is still a popular means of payment due to the anonymity it provides, and is considered an alternative method due to the better control over money that respondents say it provides.
3. 37% of European citizens tend to keep money outside the bank (34% in 2019).
4. The share of online payments increased from 6% to 17% in 2022, and was carried out through direct payments and transfers from account to account.
5. Cards were used for 34% of point-of-sale transactions, up from 19% in 2016 and 25% in 2019.
6. The share of mobile payments has increased from less than 1% in 2019 to more than 3% in 2022.
7. Card transactions surpassed cash transactions in terms of transaction value, 46% compared to 42%.
8. The share of contactless transactions increased from 41% in 2019 to 62% in 2022.
9. Cash remains the dominant medium in transactions between individuals, but its share in total volume has fallen from 86% in 2019 to 73% in 2022 and from 65% to 59% in value terms.

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