BLIK starts the year on a high: nearly a quarter of a billion transactions and 10.5 million active users in Q1 2022
From January to March 2022, BLIK users made nearly 250 million transactions totalling PLN 32.6 billion. At the end of Q1, BLIK was actively used by as many as 10.5m people. In the analysed period, there was a strong year-on-year increase in the number of BLIK phone transfers and POS terminal payments – by 136% and 172%, respectively. BLIK contactless payments also gained momentum at the beginning of the year. Since the service became available, it has been activated by over 800,000 users. In Q1 2022 alone, as many as 8.6 million payments were made this way.
Transaction figures increase in each channel
Strong BLIK transaction figures were reported at the beginning of the year. From January to March 2022, BLIK users made 247m transactions. This is by 62% more than in the previous year. The total value of transactions increased year-on-year by 63% and reached PLN 32.6bn.
In the analysed period, most BLIK transactions were made in the e-commerce sector: their share is currently 63.2% of all operations. From January to March, BLIK users made online payments 156.3m times. This means that the number of these transactions increased by 38% as compared to the previous year. The value of online transactions was PLN 18.8bn compared to PLN 12.8bn a year earlier. The average value of a single online purchase in Q1 2022 was PLN 120.
The users have once again shown that the BLIK mobile payments are a convenient and intuitive way to pay for their online purchases. Starting from Q4 2018, BLIK has consistently increased the distance to cards in this channel. According to data published by the National Bank of Poland, at the end of December 2021, the number of BLIK transactions was higher than the number of card transactions by as much as 230%. Considering its main advantages, such as the fact that it is fast and secure, we believe that this upward trend will continue in the next quarters
- said Dariusz Mazurkiewicz, CEO of the Polish Payment Standard, BLIK’s operator.
BLIK phone transfers on the rise
Phone transfers remain the second most popular way to use BLIK. In Q1 2022, they accounted for 18% of all transactions. It is an increase by 5.6% compared to the corresponding period of 2021. In the first three months of 2022, this way was used to carry out as many as 44.1m transfers, i.e. by 136% more than in the previous year. The value of P2P payments in the analysed period was PLN 5.1 billion.
With BLIK, users can make instant settlements between different banks – 14 banks already offer this extremely useful service. It is worth mentioning that BNP Paribas Polska has recently joined this group. This is a big and long-awaited moment for its customers
- added Dariusz Mazurkiewicz.
Strong increase in the number of POS payments
From January to March, there was also an impressive increase in the number of BLIK payments made using traditional payment terminals. The number of transactions increased to 36.8m, i.e. it was by 172% higher than a year ago and by 26% higher than in Q4 2021. Intensive effort to promote BLIK contactless payments significantly contributed to this growth. This service was made available by the six largest Polish banks, and it has been activated by more than 800,000 users. In the analysed period, they made as many as 8.6m transactions, i.e. by 207% more compared to the previous quarter.
We are very pleased with these transaction figures. We are glad that in the first three months of 2022 Poles appreciated the convenience and speed of payment offered by BLIK even more. However, we still see great potential for further growth. We hope that contactless BLIK will soon become popular also among those who have never used mobile payments before
- emphasised Dariusz Mazurkiewicz.
In Q1 2022, the number of ATM transactions increased year-on-year by 42% to 10.2m. ATM withdrawals and deposits currently account for 4.1% of all BLIK transactions.
At the same time, it is worth mentioning that from January to March, Poles were making on average 2.7m BLIK transactions a day compared to 1.7m in the corresponding period of 2021. On the best day of the quarter, nearly 3.7m transactions were recorded. The average value of a BLIK operation in this period was PLN 132.
More and more active BLIK users
The number of active BLIK users, which also includes people who make only BLIK phone transfers (starting from Q4), is also gradually growing. At the end of March 2022, it was 10.5m people. This is by 39% more than in the previous year.
Quarter of social responsibility
Q1 was also a period of great support provided by businesses and people. Following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, many businesses decided to help the Ukrainians. One of them was Polish Payment Standard, BLIK’s operator. In February, in cooperation with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, it launched the Pay for Ukraine campaign. BLIK users can support people defending Ukraine via a dedicated website. So far, over PLN 1.3m has been paid by donors using BLIK to the account opened by BGK for the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
It is also worth mentioning a solution developed in cooperation with Santander Bank Polska and UNHCR. Ukrainian citizens who crossed the Polish border after 24 February 2022 may apply for financial support. In Poland, they can receive it quickly and safely using BLIK cheques.
BLIK is a universal mobile payment standard. Virtually all customers of Polish payment institutions offering mobile apps can now use BLIK in mobile banking apps. Polski Standard Płatności (PSP) is responsible for the development of the system. PSP is constantly developing BLIK’s functionalities to make the system as functional as possible for its users. The shareholders of PSP include the following: Alior Bank, Bank Millennium, Santander Bank Polska, ING Bank Śląski, mBank, PKO Bank Polski and Mastercard.
For more information, contact:
Klaudia Rombalska
BLIK Press Office
M +48 512 64 19 97
