Greek Government has now approved using POS transactions using credit or debit card payments to pay for real estate under Golden visa scheme. The POS transactions were suspended before but the new government in Greece is re-enabling plastic card payments in an effort to push Greece towards digital economy and attracting FDI in the country
This decision was made after opinion by Bank of Greece that the use of POS does not violate any European and national legislation,
From now on, foreigners applying for golden visa scheme can pay in parts through credit or debit cards through Point-of-Service (POS) terminals. This makes it convenient to pay for legal fees, property taxes etc using plastic cards.
In Greece, millions of dollars of POS transactions takes place in Greece every day. In 2012, the value of point of sale transactions amounted to approximately 4.5 billion euros, by 2018 the value of POS transactions had risen to 24.9 billion euros, an increase of 6x times
What is POS?
A Point of Sale (POS) transaction occurs when a customer makes payment in exchange for goods and services through a credit or debit card. It is a final settlement, billing and payment made at the counter after purchase of any goods and services
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POS transaction fee
For making large payments, merchants will ask for additional 1% to 2% to cover the bank charges. Be wary that banks also charge extra fee for credit/debit cards. Always double check with your bank so that you dont go into overdraft.
Unauthorized or fraud transactions will cost merchants a chargeback fee and merchants can lose their POS accord if fraud rate is above 2%
All in all, keep in mind these three charges. The bigger the transaction, the bigger the fees.
- Interbank exchange rate
- Merchant fee
- Bank extra fee
Weight in the options before making big payments. In most cases, a bank transfer would be much much cheaper than POS.
POS limits
Most debit or credit cards have a limit of $5000 per day when swiping. It is also very important to take into account exchange rate at the time of making a the transaction.
The maximum limit for credit card is credit limit, while the maximum limit for debit card is the bank balance.
For large payments involving real estate, clients must call their bank and notify temporarily increase the credit limit. To prevent fraud banks also call and verify transactions with their customers.
