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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Poland leads the European Union in terms of the number of transactions carried out through mobile and internet banking, according to a new report by Deloitte. It is also one of the bloc’s best performers when it comes to financial innovation.
In its EU Financial Centres Power Index, Deloitte ranks the EU’s 27 member states on a number of different indicators.
Poland placed first for mobile and internet banking transactions, an area where it has long been a pioneer. Deloitte points to the widespread use of BLIK, a mobile payment system that accounted for 2.4 billion transactions in 2024 alone.
BLIK – which allows users to make an instant payment by generating a six-digit, one-time-use code through a banking app on their phone – was launched in 2015 and has become Poland’s dominant mobile payment system. It now has almost 20 million active users – over half the country’s population.
Polish mobile payment system BLIK has moved forward with its international expansion after becoming available in Slovakia.
The service, which is used by millions of Poles, also has plans to expand to Romania https://t.co/GthzrHNIjq
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 3, 2024
Thanks to such developments, Deloitte also ranked Poland sixth in the EU for financial innovation, behind only Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy.
Deloitte also notes that much of Poland’s financial sector is in foreign hands. The country ranks number one in Europe for foreign-controlled enterprises in financial and insurance activities.
Overall, Poland ranks ninth in the EU on Deloitte’s subindex for internationalisation of financial sectors. The consultancy sees this as a positive, saying that it shows “how embedded a country is in global finance”.
“A top financial centre is not only strong domestically but trusted and active internationally, and this subindex directly captures that dimension,” writes Deloitte.
Taking account of all factors, the consultancy ranks Poland eighth in the EU as a “financial centre of power”. Germany places first, followed by France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Sweden.
Among the countries that have joined the EU since 2004 – most of which are in the Central and Eastern Europe region – Poland is the leader, with only the Czech Republic, ranked 14th, coming close.
“Poland’s strengths in the EU Financial Centres Power Index reflect both the vastness of its economy and its modern nature,” writes Deloitte. “Poland’s substantial financial sector offers investors significant prospects due to its market scale and skilled workforce.”
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
