Athens-headquartered Eurobank will inaugurate its first India representative office in Mumbai on May 21, marking the first institutional presence in India for the Greek bank. According to Eurobank CEO Fokion Karavias, the office will be inaugurated by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides and will act as a center for building business relationships, attracting investments and sharing knowledge. This marks a significant milestone as the bank becomes the first Greek and Cypriot bank — and the first bank in Europe — to enable cross-border remittances to India via UPI. The decision to enter India builds on the India-EU free trade agreement announced in January this year, aiming to strengthen trade and investment between India and Cyprus while assisting Indian companies to build products and services across the EU region.
Athens-headquartered Eurobank has officially launched its UPI-based remittance service from Greece to India, enabling Indian customers to transfer money near-instantaneously at minimal costs. According to Eurobank deputy CEO Stavros Ioannou, the service was launched last Monday and promises near-instant transfer of money at minimum costs. The platform was developed through interoperability between Eurobank's systems and NPCI's infrastructure to facilitate seamless remittance flows from Greece to India. The facility is currently available only to Indian customers in Greece who hold accounts with Eurobank and support inward remittances to India. As reported by Devdiscourse, the bank said the initiative aims to make money transfers easier for the Indian diaspora in Greece. The service now offers instant transfers throughout the year, 24/7, with a maximum transfer limit of ₹1 lakh (100,000 rupees). Customers can make transfers exclusively through e-Banking or the Eurobank Mobile App using only the recipient's UPI ID without needing account numbers or IFSC codes. The service is available to natural persons with main or secondary tax residency in India, with transactions confirmed using OTP codes via Viber or SMS.
The Eurobank UPI remittance service is built on a strategic partnership with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). According to Eurobank deputy CEO Stavros Ioannou, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NPCI International Payments Limited and leading Greek bank Eurobank was signed in early 2024, for enhancing cross-border payments using the UPI platform. As reported by Rediff Moneynews, there will be a charge, which will be kept at a minimum level, largely to cover the operational cost of the platform. The service is already available in Greece and is set to be launched in Cyprus at a later stage, covering the full transaction lifecycle (initiation, clearing, reconciliation and dispute management). The initiative specifically aims to simplify cross-border payments for the Indian diaspora in Greece and make money transfers easier for the Indian community in Greece.
Eurobank officials have identified significant trade potential between Greece and India, with bilateral trade between India and Greece expected to reach $3-4 billion. As reported by Eurobank's chief representative officer in Mumbai and country head Tridib Saha, there is huge upside in terms of trade between Greece and India. The bank is discussing with several leading Indian companies — particularly in education, dairy, hospitality and film industry — to foster long-term presence and investment activity in Cyprus. According to Eurobank CEO Fokion Karavias, Cyprus is among the top ten investors in India, with cumulative investments of over 16 billion euros over the last two decades in sectors such as services, technology, shipping, real estate and pharmaceuticals. Karavias emphasized that in the new geo-political and trade landscape, India has a prominent place as a pillar of stability and a strategic partner for Europe for seamless global trade.
Eurobank has no immediate plans to apply for a commercial banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India, as confirmed by CEO Fokion Karavias. The bank's phased expansion approach focuses on weighing trade and investment flows between the two regions. The bank aims to help Indian companies that would like to expand their business across the EU, while helping Greek and Cypriot companies that have potential interest to expand into the Indian market. Eurobank already works with various IT companies in India, including inaugurating its global development center in Pune with LTI Mindtree in 2025, and works with other IT companies like Accenture and Infosys. The bank's country head and chief India representative Tridib Saha emphasized the focus on corporates having interest in access to the European market and vice-versa, mergers and acquisitions — both in terms of advisory and specific financing.
