Regional focus
Poland’s banking dynamism
Poland is quickly building a reputation as one of Europe’s banking hot spots, with its banks both dynamic and open to innovation. But how long can they sustain the pace of change? Abi Millar talks to Lukasz Wiktor, director of the omnichannel department at mBank; Andrzej Sierpinski, managing director at FINANTEQ; and Piotr Kowynia, CEO of Nest Bank, to fi nd out.
I
f asked to run through Europe’s banking hot spots, you might not put Poland at the top of the list. The country’s banking sector is not as established as France or Germany’s – nor has it quite gained the tech-savvy reputation of the Baltics. Yet omitting Poland from the equation would do a disservice to the dynamism of the sector.
Over the past 30 years, Polish banking has undergone an intense transformation. During the democratic transition of the late 1980s, this formerly communist country shifted towards a free market economy and its fledgling retail banking sector grew quickly from a standing start. Dozens of new banks were established, reaching at least 70 by the turn of the century, while state-owned banks were also privatised. This was followed by a wave of consolidation – there are around 30 commercial banks operating in Poland today.
In other words, most Polish banks lack deep roots – and their relative youth has given them a willingness to embrace change. What is more, the sheer number of banks has fostered intense competition, cementing Poland’s position as one of the European leaders in digitisation and mobile banking. Its fintech market is the largest in the CEE region, with around 190 fintech companies operating there as of 2019. “Poles are a nation very open to innovation,” says Lukasz Wiktor, director of the omnichannel department at mBank. “They trust modern technologies and quickly adopt new ones. An example would be the adoption of mobile banking. In the last quarter of 2021, over ten million Polish banking customers used banking only from mobile devices. Over 90% of card transactions in Poland are made using contactless transactions. This creates a very good climate for the development of digital banking.”
Future Banking /
www.nsbanking.com
11
itsmejust/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45
