Another Perspective from Greece

Hello there.
Another Greek citizen here.
I agree with most of the comments OP made:
-A lot of rumors / information is spread by politicians and journalists (both domestic and foreign). No body can tell who tells the truth and who lies and to what extent.
-Regarding credit / debit cards: I do not know in which establishments the OP tried to use debit cards. I can use my debit card in most major retail chains fr food / fuel in Patras. Smaller family held stores probably do not accept them though. This can change of course at any time.
-Web banking still works for Greek shops. Unfortunately web banking is not that spread in Greece.
-OP is probably right. A lot of people are left with little to no cash.
-No personal knowledge about mandatory leave. Have heard about it though.
-Capital controls are here to stay. Nobody believes these measures will be lifted next week. At the moment the limit is 60 Euros per day. This will probably get even lower.

In short things were bad before and now they are getting worse.

P.
Patras
…
Thanks for your message, it’s always nice to have another perspective.
I know what you mean about some stores still using credit cards. I think that big business are more likely to keep using them but even those too can end up demanding cash only. As you say, it can change at any time. While they accept it though, no doubt, it allows you to preserve cash for other things.
Greeks being fed up with politicians sounds extremely familiar. In Argentina the exact same thing happened. Back then, signs held by protesters read “que se vayan todos” , which somewhat translated into “ fire them all”.
FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.