The next major cross-border payments system might emerge from Poland, where the mobile payment platform BLIK continues to pursue aggressive growth strategies.
After securing placement in Google Play earlier this year, BLIK has now announced its expansion into Slovakia, with plans to enter Romania soon. Last year, BLIK merged with the Slovakian mobile payment system VIAMO, enabling the service to become available in that country. This week, BLIK further expanded its reach by partnering with Tatra, one of Slovakia’s largest banks, which will now offer payments through BLIK.
Growing Markets
The upcoming expansion into Romania is expected to enable BLIK to handle transactions in both Romanian leu and euros, as well as establish a connection with the SWIFT payment system.
“We chose Romania because it is among the countries with the fastest economic growth in Europe,” BLIK CEO Dariusz Mazurkiewicz said in a statement. “Using our own expertise and the right business model, we are ready to develop in Romania a modern and unique mobile payment system as well.”
BLIK says the number of e-commerce users in Romania will reach 11 million by 2025.
A Success Story
BLIK launched in Poland in 2015 and has been highly successful, with more than 16 million active users in the country. In the first half of 2024, BLIK completed more than 1.1 billion transactions, a 40% increase compared to the same period last year.
Formed through a partnership of Poland’s six largest banks and Mastercard, BLIK allows users to authorize transactions using a six-digit code. Online payments have generally accounted for the largest share of the service’s transactions, representing nearly half of all BLIK payments. However, payments can also be made through a physical network of retail shops, post offices, and various other service providers. Many ATMs in Poland allow cash withdrawals using BLIK codes, eliminating the need for a physical card.
While expanding into other Eastern European countries, BLIK also worked with Boku, a global network for localized payment solutions, to become available through the Google Play Store. As of this past June, BLIK became Boku’s first account-to-account connection with Google.
BLIK has shown remarkable growth in the physical realm. In the first half of this year, BLIK saw its highest growth in transactions within the point-of-sale segment. Users made 258 million transactions in this channel in just six months. Overall, BLIK payments at the POS increased by 58% compared to the first half of 2023.
