Until about a dozen years ago, the financial world was centered around banks. Today, fintechs play an important role in the financial market, not only providing services to customers but also developing technologies that are used by financial institutions.

What exactly is fintech? Which Polish companies have established themselves in this industry?

What does the Polish fintech industry look like?

Poland is a country that is a local leader in fintech solutions. The most fintechs in Central and Eastern Europe operate by the Vistula River, and among them there are entities that have achieved international success. What does the fintech sector look like in Poland? First of all, it is worth being aware that it is currently formed by more than 300 entities, as confirmed by the Map of Polish Fintech report.

Most of them were built in the last 3-5 years, which is evidence that the industry is growing rapidly. What characterizes it? First of all, diversity, which results from the fact that Polish fintechs are both start-ups and companies that have grown to a large size and have an established position in the market. The solutions offered by fintech companies are also diverse, as these are not only services for individuals or companies, but also technologies provided to banks or financial institutions.

Overview of the Polish fintech industry

Certainly not everyone is aware of the fact that some of the solutions offered by Polish fintechs are so popular that we use them without being aware of it. Examples include online payments offered by PayU, or Blue Media. In both cases, they are giants of the Polish payment market, who also offer their solutions abroad. Another example would be BLIK, or mobile payments using a smartphone. In this case, popularization was certainly influenced by the pandemic, which forced social distance. What other popular services do Polish fintechs offer? First of all, payment for freeways and parking meters (SkyCash), online currency exchange (Walutomat, Amronet, Cinkciarz) or online loans (Bancovo).

Fintechs are also popular online comparison sites led by Rankomat or Comperia. In this case, these are solutions that allow customers to compare insurance, financial products, or GSM operators’ offers and choose the best offer. The companies act as an intermediary between the customer and the institution that pays them a commission for the sale. Interesting fintech solutions also include crowdfunding, which takes place on platforms such as zarzuela.pl or wspieram.to, which allow you to collect money for a specific purpose.

Crowdfunding can also take another form, namely allowing you to sell shares in your company, which is possible through the Beesfund platform. It is the largest crowdfunding platform in Poland and one of the largest in Central and Eastern Europe, which may be proof that Polish fintech counts in the region. Among fintech solutions for entrepreneurs, it is also worth mentioning online factoring, which is provided by SMEO, Finiata, or InviPay. In this case, we can also talk about the growing popularity of such services, which positively affects the liquidity of enterprises.

X Open Hub – a specialized fintech providing technology

As already mentioned, Polish fintech is not limited to services that can be used by individuals or companies but is also a technology provider. One example is X Open Hub, a company that specializes in providing world-class trading technology to banks, brokers, and start-ups. X Open Hub provides multi-asset liquidity and provides state-of-the-art trading technology while maintaining a fully open environment. The brand is a trading name of XTB Limited, an entity authorized and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 522157). X Open Hub is a fintech that has achieved international success, as evidenced by the fact that it now works with more than 100 companies in 30 countries around the world. It is headquartered in London and has a tech hub in Warsaw where innovations are created.

In conclusion, we can certainly say that Polish fintech will play an increasingly important role both on the Polish and international financial market. It is good to see that Poland is the leader in financial innovation in Central and Eastern Europe.