Poland

Cards dominate at the till, but cash has not disappeared. In Narodowy Bank Polski’s (NBP) 2023 payment diary, cash was used for 40.2% of in-person payments by number and 28.1% by value, mostly for small amounts. Poland is one of the most contactless-heavy card markets: in the first half of 2025, contactless made up 97.8% of cashless card transactions and all POS terminals accepted contactless. Most cards in use are Visa and Mastercard debit cards: 88.4% of cards held by NBP survey respondents in 2023 were debit cards. BLIK also works in store, by six-digit code or contactless, with 704.5 million POS transactions in 2025.

Gemius found in 2025 that 78% of Polish internet users shop online and that the smartphone is the first-choice shopping device for 82% (91% among 15 to 24-year-olds). Allegro is the main domestic marketplace, alongside international platforms such as Amazon, Temu and AliExpress. Delivery to parcel lockers, such as InPost’s Paczkomat network, is a standard checkout option. Prices should be shown in PLN, with BLIK and pay-by-link presented prominently. The NBP’s 2023 survey found consumers rate cash on delivery highly for ease of use and safety, so some categories still need to offer it.

Payment institutions and e-money issuers are licensed and supervised by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) under the Payment Services Act, which implements PSD2, so strong customer authentication applies to online card and account payments. Narodowy Bank Polski oversees payment systems and schemes. Since 1 January 2022, businesses that must record sales on cash registers have also had to offer at least one cashless method (card, mobile payment or transfer), with fines of up to PLN 5,000. Since 5 November 2021, retailers generally may not refuse cash. Online gambling is tightly restricted: the Ministry of Finance keeps a register of unlawful gambling domains, and payment service providers must stop serving a listed domain within 30 days.

The World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 (2024 survey data) put account ownership at 86% of adults aged 15 and over, down from 96% in 2021, with 81% owning a debit card and 20% a credit card. The NBP’s own 2023 survey found that 91.7% of adults had a bank or payment account and 86.7% held a payment card. People without accounts were mostly older or had less formal education, and most said they simply did not need one.