Polish payment fintech BLIK enters the Romanian market

The BLIK company, leader in the payment system market in Poland, is launching in Romania, the second largest market in Central and Eastern Europe. The newly established company, BLIK Romania, will develop a unique and innovative digital payment system in RON that will provide a number of major benefits, including high security and simplification of payments by generating and using an individual six-digit code for each transaction. In the first phase, the system operator will focus on implementing the solution in e-commerce.

Top mobile payment system

BLIK is a payment system available in mobile banking applications, connected to a bank account that does not require the user to have a physical or virtual card. It allows payment in online shops and traditional payment terminals, as well as cash withdrawals from ATMs. Payment via BLIK involves generating a unique six-digit code valid for two minutes in the bank’s application, which is then entered online, at a terminal or in an ATM to initiate the transaction. Each transaction must be confirmed in the bank’s mobile application.

BLIK is currently the most popular payment method in Poland. During the 8 years they have been on this market, BLIK has attracted a significant number of active and loyal users – about 26 million mobile apps are already registered in the BLIK system and almost 13 million BLIK users make payments regularly every month. From 2015 to the end of 2022, almost 2.8 billion transactions worth EUR 78.7 billion (PLN 371.4 billion) were completed in the system.

The popularity of the BLIK system among various user groups is also confirmed by periodic measurements made by the data analysis company KANTAR. According to them, BLIK is the most famous cashless payment brand in Poland, which represents a high level of recognition and provides a great advantage over competitors. At the end of December last year, 96% of users of the banking app said they were familiar with BLIK, and 49% chose it most often for shopping. Last year, BLIK registered the highest Brand Power index, which reached 44%. This result is twice as high as for other well-known companies in the same payment category, such as Mastercard and Visa.

“BLIK is a payment system that has established itself in Poland and won the trust of millions of users, and has become one of the most important digital payment systems in Europe. BLIK is designed to meet the expectations of both banks and payment providers in international markets. We chose Romania because it is among the countries with the fastest economic growth in Europe. Using our own expertise and the right business model, we are ready to develop a modern and unique mobile payment system in Romania as well”, declares Dariusz MazurkiewiczChairman of BLIK Romania SA and chairman of the Polish payment standard, BLIK mobile payment operator.

The first steps in Romania

BLIK Romania was entered in the commercial register at the beginning of December last year. In March 2023, the BLIK Romania management led by Ryszard Drużyński’, board president, will submit an application to the Banca Nationala a Romaniaie (BNR) for approval of the BLIK payment system in RON. Once the legal approval from the regulator has been obtained and operations have started, the BLIK payment system will be settled in Romanian lei and available to all acquirers and issuers who have an open BNR account with access to the ReGIS system.

As part of BLIK Romania’s business strategy, the company plans to introduce BLIK code payments in all sales channels: e-commerce, POS and ATM. In the first phase, the system operator will focus on implementing the solution in e-commerce.

“Romania has one of the most important digital economies in Central and Eastern Europe. Mobile banking and e-commerce are at a very high level of development, and customers are ready and willing to use modern payment services. According to Statista, the number of e-commerce users in Romania will increase by 16%, up to almost 11 million by 2025, which means a real development potential for BLIK. We want to provide local users of mobile banking applications with a fast, convenient and especially secure payment method for online shopping. We are sure that those who will use BLIK as a mobile payment system will become active and loyal users, says Ryszard Drużyńskipresident of the board of BLIK Romania SA

Next step in development

In Romania, BLIK intends to follow the development strategy for payment systems that was tested in Poland. This means that it will support all participants in the payment ecosystem with experience and proven business practices.

“We carried out months of intense work that entailed many challenges, such as adapting the system to the regulations and laws that apply in this market. During this time, we have had many discussions and developed a suitable business strategy, which we will follow in the next quarters of this year”, summarizes Ryszard Drużyński.

For more information about BLIK Romania, please visit www.blik.com/ro