The Bank of Greece has recorded a significant increase in cases of fraud in payment card transactions for 2024. Specifically, 398,723 cases of fraud were recorded, with the value of fraudulent transactions amounting to €22.6 million.
The Bank of Greece’s data, as reflected in the Financial Stability Report, show that last year the total number of payment card transactions increased by 14% to 2.511 billion, with a total value of €112 billion. from €102 billion, an increase of 9% on an annual basis.
According to data from the Bank of Greece, in 2024:
– The ratio of the number and value of fraudulent payment card transactions to the total number and value of card transactions decreased by 14% and 13%, respectively.
– There were 398,723 fraudulent transactions with a value of €22.6 million.
– The number of frauds involving remote transactions without the physical presence of a card (Card not present – CNP) increased by 4% to 349,000 in 2024, from 337,000 in 2023, with a corresponding increase in value of 1% to €17.7 million, from €17.5 million in 2023.
– An increase is also observed in the number of fraudulent transactions at ATMs, where, although the number in 2024 increased by 80 transactions compared to 2023 (change +2%), the value increased by 22% to €2.4 million from €2 million in 2023.
– There was a significant decrease in the number and value of fraudulent transactions at POS terminals. Specifically, the number of fraudulent transactions decreased by 35% and their value by 43%. In absolute terms, in 2024 the number of fraudulent transactions at POS terminals amounted to 44,000 with a corresponding value of €2.4 million, compared to 67,000 fraudulent transactions worth €4.2 million in 2023.
– The value of fraudulent transactions using lost/stolen cards at POS terminals fell by 54% to €1.7 million, from €3.7 million in 2023, while the number of fraudulent transactions using lost/stolen cards decreased significantly by 26,000 (or 39%) to 39,000 transactions in 2024, from 65,000 in 2023.
With regard to fraud in distance transactions, it has been found that most fraudulent transactions involve online transactions. These incidents mainly concern online transactions with foreign companies, as in previous years.
The number of debit card transactions increased by 14% to 2.325 billion in 2024, from 2.042 billion in 2023. Debit cards account for 93% of the total number of transactions with all types of payment cards. Similarly, the number of credit card transactions increased by 10% to 186 million, from 168 million in 2023, while their share of total transactions rose to 7%.
The average number of transactions per card in 2024 increased by 14% to 122 transactions, from 107 transactions in 2023. An analysis of the individual card categories shows that the change in the average number of transactions per card is due to an increase in the average number of transactions per debit card to 134 transactions, from 115 transactions in the previous year.
The average transaction value per card increased by 10% to €5,468, from €4,947 in 2023. The average transaction value per credit card increased by 2% to €2,616, from €2,547 in the previous year.
