Cashless payments technology are becoming more and more popular in Poland, which is confirmed by the data published regularly by the National Bank of Poland. Poles already have over 43 million payment cards in their wallets.
However, more and more people are becoming convinced of alternative payment methods – they choose to pay with phones or watches. The National Bank of Poland has published new data on the payment card market. They show that at the end of 2021, Poles had over 43.2 million cards in their wallets.
The vast majority are debit cards, of which there are over 35 million. With the help of plastics, in the fourth quarter of 2021, we made 1.9 billion non-cash transactions with a total value of 137 billion PLN. The data published by the National Bank of Poland confirm the visible trend: Poles are more and more willing to pay without cash.
Over the years, payment cards have been the leader on the payment instruments market. Today, however, more and more people use alternative payment methods. The enormous popularity of smartphones has made mobile phones a tool for making payments today. According to the industry service PRNews.pl, Poles have already connected over 7 million cards to their phones. They pay them in a virtual form using solutions such as Google Pay or Apple Pay.
The history behind payment methods in Poland
And although it might seem that contactless payments by phone are a novelty from recent years, the idea is actually much older. Already in 2010, there was a test regarding contactless payments by phone at Inteligo , two years later such services as Orange Cash or T-Mobile My Wallet appeared.
At that time, however, the payment schemes were quite complicated, because they required, inter alia, SIM card replacement. In practice, the customer had to have a SIM card from a specific cellular network, have a suitable NFC phone (which was not a standard then) and use certain services from one of several banks.
After years of experimenting, the time has come for HCE cards, but the real revolution has been made by Google Pay (initially Android Pay) and Apple Pay. The first of them made their debut in Poland in 2016, and the next two years later. It turned out that connecting the card to the phone is child’s play and does not require the customer to replace the SIM cards.
Since then, the number of cards connected to smartphones has been growing quite quickly. Today, these services are provided by most banks in Poland, including Bank Pocztowy.How Apple Pay and Google Pay work
To use this solution, you only need to associate your payment card with a digital wallet – Google Pay or Apple Pay. To do this, you only need to follow the instructions displayed on the smartphone screen.
The entire process takes no more than a few minutes. Apple Pay and Google Pay systems allow you to make contactless payments by phone – to pay, it is enough to illuminate the screen of the device and bring the phone close to the POS terminal. Both systems can also be used to make online payments, e.g. in mobile applications.
Payments with codes
In the meantime, experiments with mobile payments that use codes (one-time or QR) were ongoing. In 2013, IKO payments were made available by Bank PKO BP, and a moment later PeoPay payments – Bank Pekao. Two years later, on the basis of IKO, the Polish mobile standard Blik was launched, which today is very popular. Most banks, including Bank Pocztowy, offer the service that uses code payments in their applications. You can pay with Blik at POS terminals, make withdrawals from ATMs, pay in e-commerce.
The time has come for watches and smartbands
The market has gone even further. Today, people who prefer non-cash payments have even greater possibilities. In recent years, payments with the use of watches and smartbands have appeared. For example, at Bank Pocztowy, customers can choose Garmin Pay or Xiaomi Pay. Both systems allow you to make contactless payments, e.g. during a break in training.
Cards for Garmin Pay or Xiaomi Pay are attached in a similar way as for Google Pay or Apple Pay. It is enough to bind the plastic to the appropriate manufacturer’s application. To make payments, you still need the appropriate equipment. These are Garmin watches with a payment module or the sixth version of the Xiaomi sports band – Mi Band 6 NFC. The payment is made by bringing the watch closer to the POS terminal – analogously to the card or smartphone.
Background payments in Poland
However, this is not the end of the possibility of making cashless payments. Banking applications have additional modules that allow you to pay, for example, for tickets or parking lots. But not only. For example, in Bank Pocztowy, the Autopay module is available, which automatically settles payments for motorways.
All you need to do is enter the car’s data into the application and the payment will be made automatically when you approach the gate on the highway. Cameras installed at checkpoints recognize the registration number of the car and open the barrier – you no longer need to collect tickets and stop at the ticket office. With Autopay, you can pay automatically for journeys on the A1 motorways on the Rusocin – Nowa Wieś section and A4 on the Katowice – Kraków section.
Today, therefore, we do not need a card to function in a cashless society. It will be successfully replaced by other instruments. At the moment, smartphones seem to be the most versatile, with the help of which we can pay in traditional and online stores, settle accounts with friends or make withdrawals from ATMs.
Are these solutions safe and what about payment via iris scan?
Yes, because phones and payment applications are secured in several stages. To use the payment functions, you must unlock the device with codes or biometrics. If your phone falls into the wrong hands, an outsider will not be able to use its payment functions. Just like payments via scanning of iris also developed in Poland.
Source: Bankier
