Banks big on plastic

Though avid users of debit cards, Poles are increasingly opting for credit cards. Banks have already issued 5.5 million credit cards, of which some 4.5 million have been used at least once, according to estimates from Bankier.pl.

Data compiled by the central bank show that at the end of August, Poles' credit-card debts amounted to zł.5 billion, a billion złoty more than in December 2005.

Lukas Bank is the leader in the market, with 715,000 credit-card clients in the second quarter of 2006, 85,111 more than in the first quarter. It is followed by PKO BP and Citibank.

"Credit cards are a perfect product for banks. They earn money when the customer actually draws the credit and when he or she only uses it to pay in a shop and then pays the entire debt back," says Michał Macierzyński, analyst at Bankier.pl.

"Interestingly, the market leaders are those institutions that offer the most expensive products. What is unthinkable on the mortgage-loan market is the norm in this case," he adds.

For that reason, the competition is tough and new customers can find attractive offers - the banks don't charge for issuing the card, they issue cards with low credit lines only on the basis of an ID, or they lower the interest rate when debt is transfered from a different card.