Polish Payment Standard - what do you need to know?

5 January 2020

Polish Payments Standard - what is BLIK?

Transferring money can often be a hassle, especially when we need to pay for products quickly. Most of us are also very fond of online shopping - it's instant and incredibly convenient, but sometimes we are afraid to make a payment because of various risks, such as data loss, or we don't feel like transferring money from our bank account in the traditional way. What should we do in such a situation? Is it possible to pay for purchases in the blink of an eye? It turns out that yes! All you need to do is use the Polish Payments Standard service called BLIK. It is nothing but a convenient system of mobile payments. So transactions are made using smartphones with the bank's app installed. The BLIK service first appeared in 2015 and has since gained a significant number of supporters. We use this method when paying online, withdrawing from an ATM, transferring money to our phone and even paying at a terminal during traditional shopping in a shop. As you can see, the applications of BLIK are truly wide-ranging.

Polish Payments Standard - how to use BLIK?

Paying with the popular BLIK is nothing complicated! The first step is to download the web application of the bank where you have your account. Once you have installed it, simply log in and find the characteristic BLIK service icon. When you click on it, you will receive a special 6-digit code which you have to enter when making transactions: when withdrawing money from an ATM, making an online transfer or paying for purchases in a shop. We then need to confirm the operation on our smartphone - we have 20 seconds to do so. In the case of payment at a terminal, the retailer will print out a confirmation. For online purchases, we will receive an email with proof of the transaction. The cash machine will withdraw the cash and print out a confirmation - if we have previously selected this option, of course.

Which banks provide the BLIK service?

Unfortunately, not all banks in Poland offer the possibility of using BLIK. The opportunity to use this system is given to customers::

PKO Bank Polski (IKO application),

Pekao SA (Peo Pay app),

Bank Millennium (Bank Millennium app),

ING Bank Śląski (My ING Mobile app),

Santander Bank Polska (Santander mobile app),

Alior Bank (Alior Mobile application),

Getin Bank (Getin Mobile app),

BNP Paribas (GOmobile app),

mBank (mBank PL application),

Credit Agricole (CA24 Mobile app),

T-Mobile Banking Services (T-Mobile Bank app).

Polish Payments Standard - discover all the possibilities of BLIK

Using BLIK is an excellent way to make fast and completely secure transactions - without having to use a payment card. Using BLIK we can:

pay for purchases in stationary shops - it is always worth asking the cashier if this option is available,

deposit cash into an account (function only available in some banks),

pay for purchases made online,

withdraw cash from an ATM (we do not need a card for this),

transfer money to a phone number (function only available in some banks).

Polish Payments Standard - why is it safe to pay with BLIK?

One of the most important advantages of the BLIK service (besides convenience) is security - in this respect, this method is far ahead of other forms of payment. Why? Here are some important reasons:

all BLIK transactions for amounts greater than PLN 50 require additional PIN acceptance;

Banking applications and BLIK payments themselves have a number of specialised security features, which include, for example, an application access mechanism or the need for user verification;

BLIK does not store our data, and it is this data that is vulnerable to theft by third parties;

generated BLIK code is one-off and only active for 2 minutes - it cannot be used again.

In summary, the BLIK service is one of the best and fastest payment methods today. To carry out such a transaction, all we need is our smartphone with the bank's app installed. We also do not have to worry about the security level of this service. BLIK offers several useful modern solutions, which include transfers to the phone or electronic cheques, significantly streamlining payments. With BLIK, we can easily pay at the terminal or make an online transfer.