As Dariusz Mazurkiewicz, president of the Polish Payment Standard (PSP), the creator of the BLIK system, says in an interview with Reuters, this year, at least three large banks in Romania will implement the technology of this Polish mobile payment system.
The integration process in a new market may take from several months to even a year and a half. The pace of these activities is influenced by the fact that some Romanian institutions are currently focusing on the development of their own local RoPay payment system.
Slovakia as a gateway to the euro zone
While Romania is a key target for current deployments, Slovakia is to play a strategic role in the development of BLIK in the euro zone. PSP is strengthening its influence there after taking over the local payment platform. The company has already established cooperation with the leading Slovak bank – Tatra banka – and other financial institutions in the country, including VUB.
The Polish payment giant's appetite does not end there. After taking root in Romania and Slovakia, BLIK plans further expansion. The operator's target is Hungary, and in the longer term also Austria and the Czech Republic.
During the panel at the European Financial Congress in Sopot, Dariusz Mazurkiewicz clearly outlined the motivation behind such dynamic development. — We want to build a strong position in the region and we cannot allow the train to leave the station – he said.
The president of PSP also warned against the risk of completely handing over the payments market to global technology giants such as Apple or Google.
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In expansion into foreign markets, the support of the Austrian Erste group, which recently became a shareholder of BLIK (through shares in Erste Bank Polska) may be crucial.. Erste is also the owner of Slovenskej sporiteľnia, the largest bank in Slovakia. A great opportunity for the Polish system would be integration with George, a popular digital banking platform owned by Erste.
