According to a new report by Timetric, debit cards will continue to dominate Poland’s payment cards market over the next five years, supported by an increase in the use of contactless cards and migration of low-value cash payment to cards.
Poland witnessed huge growth in the volume of debit card transactions during the review period (2010–2014). The figure grew from 1.3 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion in 2014, as consumers preferred debt-free payments and avoided unnecessary expenditure. Moreover, rising acceptance of contactless payments at retailers also aided growth in debit card transaction volumes and values – a trend that is anticipated to continue over the forecast period. Timetric expects the volume of debit card transactions is set to reach 3.2 billion by 2019.
Timetric’s analyst Kartik Challa comments: “Poland is one of the most advanced and innovative markets in Europe, offering consumers broad access to the latest technology in electronic payments. Nevertheless, cash is still very popular, but payment card use – and especially debit card – is on the rise as consumers enthusiastically embrace new technology, moving from cash to payment cards to contactless, almost completely missing out checks. Poland has taken what the cards and payments industry has to offer, and is adapting it to suit its changing circumstances.”
Growing preference for contactless payments
The emergence of new technology such as contactless and chip-and-PIN cards increased public confidence in payment cards, and positively impacted overall market development in the country. The number of contactless cards in Poland grew from 2.0 million in 2010 to 25.2 million in 2014, and is anticipated to reach 39.5 million in 2019.
“Poland was one of Europe’s early adopters of contactless technology, and consumers are among the highest users of contactless payments, behind the UK and France. Contactless is seen as an area of huge potential in Poland, especially by Visa, which sees the advance of contactless as highly successful. Visa is heavily promoting contactless payment cards in Poland, and growth has been so impressive that Poland is now Visa’s largest contactless market in Europe,” says Challa.
