Payments in Poland: Cards at the heart of growing sophistication

26 / 11 / 2025

Poland is one of Europe's fastest-growing economies, and this dynamism is mirrored in its increasingly sophisticated banking and payments market, which is adopting Open Banking and new payment methods.

2 min.

Payments Card issuing

Despite the rise of new options like Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), Account-to-Account (A2A) payments, and the domestic BLIK system, international and domestic payment cards remain fundamental to the country's payment mix.

Key trends highlighting the continued importance of cards:

Sustained Growth: Over the last five years, the average number of card payments per card rose by 14.1% annually, reaching 231.4 payments per card in 2024.
High Spend: Annual spending per card grew by 16.4% over the last five years, hitting 17,092 Zloty (€4,102) last year. This figure is comparable to advanced economies like Italy and higher than the German average.
Milestone: In 2024, the total number of card payments exceeded 10 billion for the first time.
E-commerce Driver: Card payments for e-commerce have surged, rising by 27.4% annually over the last five years.

While cash is still used for 42.7% of Point-of-Sale (POS) transactions, and A2A instant payments are rapidly growing, cards are expected to remain central for the next decade.

Banks operating in Poland should continue to focus on innovation within the card space. They should also be mindful of increasing competition from non-bank entities, which are estimated to process up to three-quarters of transactions by 2030.

Worldline is committed to support banks and fintechs in maintaining their leadership in the card industry, offering a complete suite of services across the card value chain, including issuing, processing, tokenisation, and fraud protection (such as 3DS security and full SCA compliance).

Read the full article: https://www.paymentscardsandmobile.com/payments-in-poland-cards-at-the-heart-of-growing-sophistication/