No-money transactions boom
The CEE is showing the fastest growth of payment cards on the continent, and Poland is the region's fastest growing market after Russia. According to data from MasterCard, Europe's banks issued 23 percent more of its products in Q1-Q2 of 2004 than in the parallel period last year. In addition, so-called point-of-sale transactions are beginning to outpace ATM withdrawals.
However, with 15 million debit and credit cards in use in Poland to date, market penetration remains low compared to Western Europe. And it's decades behind the U.S.
"We have 2 to 3 years of exploding growth ahead of us, before the market can start maturing," claims senior vice-president of MasterCard Europe Jeremy Nicholds. This rapid expansion will allow post-communist countries to reach the same level as their well-developed counterparts.
Some technological novelties have been introduced already. Two banks, BRE and WBK, are preparing a test offer of chip cards, and MasterCard will launch MC Square. The latter, being more an esthetic than technological innovation, is what could be called a designer's credit card with one rounded corner.
However, with 15 million debit and credit cards in use in Poland to date, market penetration remains low compared to Western Europe. And it's decades behind the U.S.
"We have 2 to 3 years of exploding growth ahead of us, before the market can start maturing," claims senior vice-president of MasterCard Europe Jeremy Nicholds. This rapid expansion will allow post-communist countries to reach the same level as their well-developed counterparts.
Some technological novelties have been introduced already. Two banks, BRE and WBK, are preparing a test offer of chip cards, and MasterCard will launch MC Square. The latter, being more an esthetic than technological innovation, is what could be called a designer's credit card with one rounded corner.
