Poles beginning to prefer plastic
The credit card is no longer a mysterious gadget in the eyes of the average Polish consumer. People now tend to use it on an everyday basis, and statistics show that non-cash transactions went up 30 percent last year as compared to 2003.
"We will not rest on our laurels," says Małgorzata O'Shaughnessy, the general director of Visa Europe in Poland. In the second half of this year, Visa will offer a cashback service to clients. This allows customers to withdraw cash while paying with the Visa card in retail outlets. The firm also wants to develop its Visa Electron debit cards. "They are a very good product but they are overly associated with cash machines," says O'Shaughnessy. "Banks will be gradually replacing Visa Electron cards with their variations until chip cards are in common usage."
The total number of Visa cards in Poland increased by 8.2 percent last year and reached 10.5 million. Payments with Visa cards made up three percent of consumers' total personal expenditure. The total value of transactions by Visa cards in Poland reached EUR 22.2 (zł.88.8) billion, compared to EUR 46.3 (zł.185.2) billion generated by the whole group of new members, including Poland. The total value of transactions for Visa's 276.3 million cards in circulation in Europe last year was EUR 1 (zł.4) billion.
"We will not rest on our laurels," says Małgorzata O'Shaughnessy, the general director of Visa Europe in Poland. In the second half of this year, Visa will offer a cashback service to clients. This allows customers to withdraw cash while paying with the Visa card in retail outlets. The firm also wants to develop its Visa Electron debit cards. "They are a very good product but they are overly associated with cash machines," says O'Shaughnessy. "Banks will be gradually replacing Visa Electron cards with their variations until chip cards are in common usage."
The total number of Visa cards in Poland increased by 8.2 percent last year and reached 10.5 million. Payments with Visa cards made up three percent of consumers' total personal expenditure. The total value of transactions by Visa cards in Poland reached EUR 22.2 (zł.88.8) billion, compared to EUR 46.3 (zł.185.2) billion generated by the whole group of new members, including Poland. The total value of transactions for Visa's 276.3 million cards in circulation in Europe last year was EUR 1 (zł.4) billion.
