Cyprus to launch mobile phone number transfers in early 2027

Cyprus is preparing an interbank money transfer service using mobile phone numbers: recipients’ IBANs will not be required to send money. The launch is planned for the first quarter of 2027, but the exact date has not yet been set.

Detailed planning will begin in early September, when JCC Payments — Cyprus’s payment systems operator — meets with the Association of Cyprus Banks. The meeting will define the system’s technical requirements and the scope of work needed to integrate it with banking apps.

The Cypriot service is modelled on Greece’s IRIS system, and JCC will develop it together with the Greek interbank operator DIAS. The company already operates the infrastructure for domestic and cross-border payments for banks in Greece and Cyprus.

A phone number will not replace an IBAN but will work as a “proxy” — a label linked to a bank account. Users will select the recipient’s number in their banking app, and the system will automatically enter the account details. The money will arrive within seconds, and both parties will receive confirmation. The service is intended for everyday situations, such as splitting a restaurant bill or repaying a friend without requesting or checking a long account number.

Before the launch, banks will have to agree on security and identity verification methods, transfer limits, registration procedures and fraud protection. It is also still unclear whether all banks will launch the service simultaneously and under the same conditions.

On 30 June, Greece connected IRIS to the European Payments Alliance (EuroPA): phone number transfers became possible between Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Andorra, while the network reached 57.3 million users. It has not yet been announced whether Cypriots will have access to such cross-border transfers immediately after the launch.