Polish Banks Unite for Mobile Payments Service

blikSix of the largest banks in Poland have teamed up to launch BLIK, a mobile payments service that will enable millions of bank customers to make payments in store and online using their phones.

The service was launched by Polish Payment Standard (PPS), a company formed by Alior Bank, Bank Millennium, Bank Zachodni WBK, mBank, ING Bank and PKO Bank Polski. It is the first initiative in Poland where competitors have elected to cooperate in order to provide their customers with improved service based on mobile technology.

BLIK enables customers to make payments, withdraw cash from ATMs and send transfers to other customers using the system. The PPS system means that the user can access the system using an app belonging to any of the participating banks, and can have several apps on their phone that will work with BLIK.

The banks behind the BLIK system hope that it will encourage Polish businesses to embrace mobile payments as a solution, as well as strengthening the digital economy of the country and encouraging online purchases.

The service will cover roughly 60 per cent of the banking customers in Poland, and numerous smaller banks have expressed an interest in becoming part of the BLIK system.