Blik (stylised: blik) is a

payment system A payment system is any system used to settle financial transactions through the transfer of monetary value. This includes the institutions, instruments, people, rules, procedures, standards, and technologies that make its exchange possible.Biago ...

in Poland that allows users to make instant payments and withdraw cash using only the user's standard mobile banking app. The system allows users to make online and in-store purchases and to transfer money in real time between bank accounts and ATMs, including cash withdrawal from ATMs, without the need of a payment card. Transactions are uniquely identified by a 6-digit one-time code, valid for 2 minutes, which the user generates and authenticates in their mobile banking app. The code can then be typed in online, entered on the ATM screen, or typed by the payment recipient in their mobile app. The resulting payments are near instant. Blik allows phone number transfers by binding a phone number with a bank account. These transfers are free and instantaneous, even between accounts from different banks. Some online shopping platforms, like

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton * ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...

, are able to connect a customer account to a Blik-compatible app instance allowing for payment confirmation with just a notification prompt and

pin code A personal identification number (PIN), or sometimes redundantly a PIN number or PIN code, is a numeric (sometimes alpha-numeric) passcode used in the process of authenticating a user accessing a system. The PIN has been the key to facilitati ...

or biometric login. Blik was launched in February 2015 by Polski Standard Płatności, an alliance of six Polish banks, itself a member of the

European Mobile Payment Systems Association The European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA) is an association that aims to foster collaboration and to enable the use of different mobile payments systems internationally. EMPSA is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland and chaired by S� ...

. The number of participating banks has grown since. Blik had 8,6 million users and processed 424 million transactions in 2020. In 2021, Blik introduced mobile contactless payments in ground terminals. Between 2019 and 2020,

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

reported several cases of fraud using Blik ATM withdrawal. By gaining access to a person's social media account, the perpetrator is able to request a loan from acquaintances and perform cash withdrawals if provided with a Blik code.

Participating banks

The Blik service is available from the following banks: *

Alior Bank Alior Bank SA is a large universal bank in Poland. It forms the 10th largest financial group in the country, with more than 6,000 employees as of end of 2015. History Founded in 2008 by an Italian group Carlo Tassara, the bank debuted on Wars ...

, *

Bank Millennium Bank Millennium S.A. is a Poland-based commercial bank with headquarters in Warsaw, and owned by the Portuguese bank Millennium BCP. It is one of the largest banks in Poland and has been operating for 32 years. In 2018, it was the 7th bank in Pol ...

BNP Paribas BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the grou ...

* Citi Handlowy *

Crédit Agricole Crédit Agricole Group (), sometimes called La banque verte ( en, The green bank) due to its historical ties to farming, is a French international banking group and the world's largest cooperative financial institution. It is France's second lar ...

Getin Bank Getin Bank is a bank in Poland, part of Noble Bank SA. It provides services to individual and business clients. The core business activity of Getin Bank is retail banking. The bank is used by about 2,4 million clients, its products are available ...

ING Bank Śląski ING Bank Śląski SA (eng. ING Silesian Bank) (ING BSK) is a Polish bank based in Katowice. The majority owner is ING Group. History The bank was established as Bank Śląski in 1988 as a result of the separation from the National Bank of Poland. ...

Nest Bank A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

Getin Noble Bank Getin Noble Bank is a Polish banking and financial services company, formed in Warsaw in 2010 as a result of the merger of Getin Bank SA with Noble Bank SA. Main shareholder is a Polish billionaire Leszek Czarnecki. Listed on the Warsaw Stock Ex ...

mBank mBank SA (formerly BRE Bank), set up in 1986, and originally BRE – Bank Rozwoju Eksportu (Export Development Bank), is Poland's fourth largest universal banking group in terms of total assets and loans, and fifth by deposits at the end of Septe ...

Bank Pocztowy Bank Pocztowy SA is a commercial bank in Poland, offering financial services for individual customers with a complementary offering for micro and small enterprises using its network and facilities of the Polish Post. In 1990 was the bank founded ...

Bank Pekao Bank Polska Kasa Opieki Spółka Akcyjna, commonly using the shorter name Bank Pekao S.A., is a universal bank and currently the second largest bank in Poland with its headquarters in Warsaw. The Italian bank UniCredit used to own 59% of the comp ...

PKO Bank Polski Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski Spółka Akcyjna (also known as ''PKO Bank Polski S.A.'', ''PKO BP S.A.'') is Poland's largest bank founded in 1919. It provides services to individual and business clients. The core business activity of ...

Inteligo Inteligo Financial Services S.A. is one of the first online banks of Poland. It was founded by David Putts and Andrzej Klesyk, two former McKinsey consultants, and Hasan Mustafa and Kyle Spicer, two former ABN AMRO Bank professionals, as an indepe ...

Santander Bank Polska Santander Bank Polska SA, formerly Bank Zachodni WBK (BZ WBK) (eng. West WBK Bank - ''the WBK abbreviation below'') is a Polish universal bank based in Wrocław, Poznań and Warsaw. It is the third largest bank in Poland in terms of assets value a ...

* Bank Polskiej Spółdzielczości (BPS) * Spółdzielcza Grupa Bankow (SGB)

References

External links

* {{Mobile payments Financial services companies of Poland Mobile payments Financial technology companies Payment systems Online payments