Summary of 2023 – almost 1.8 billion BLIK transactions and 3 million new users
From January to December 2023, the users of BLIK made almost 1.8 billion transactions of the value close to a quarter of a trillion PLN, while the number of transactions made since the system started has exceeded 4.5 billion of the value of PLN 614.4 billion. Over the past twelve months, the highest number of transactions was recorded in e-commerce – as many as 921 million, which means that every second BLIK transaction is carried out in this channel. In 2023, BLIK phone transfers were the second most popular BLIK service that, at the same time, recorded the most dynamic growth. Users made more than 415 million of these transactions, i.e. by 71% more than one year ago. At the end of December 2023, BLIK was actively used by 15.8 million people on a regular basis.
Over 8 million transactions were made on the record day
In the last quarter 2023, BLIK users made 506.2 million transactions and throughout the year – the number of transactions was close to PLN 1.8 billion. During that period, Poles made 4.8 million BLIK operations a day on average. The record-breaking daily number of transactions (in all channels – e-commerce, POS, ATM and P2P) – more than 8.2 million – was registered in the system on 10 November 2023. In 2023, the average BLIK payment amount was PLN 138. At the same time, the value of all BLIK operations from January to December 2023 was PLN 243 billion (growth of 48% year-on-year), of which PLN 72.1 billion was recorded in the last quarter 2023.
BLIK became an integral part of the life of many Poles, simplifying their everyday life and making the settlement process effective and intuitive. It is reflected in numbers – since the introduction of the system, it was used for more than 4.5 billion transactions, close to 40% were made in the last year. Moreover, at the end of the year, the BLIK services were used by 15.8 million active users. Only in the fourth quarter, one million new people joined this group
– says Dariusz Mazurkiewicz, President of the Management Board of Polski Standard Płatności, BLIK mobile payment system operator.
Solid position in e-commerce
In the previous year, e-commerce payments constituted slightly more than a half of all BLIK transactions. BLIK payments were used in online stores 921 million times, i.e. by 29% more than during the similar period in 2022. In the last year, the value of online transactions reached PLN 125.6 billion compared to PLN 89.2 billion a year earlier. At the same time, during that period the average amount of a single purchase on e-commerce platforms was PLN 130. The highest number of BLIK operations in this channel – as many as 267,7 million – were made in the last quarter.
In 2023, BLIK was still a natural choice for consumers when shopping online. It was most often used on marketplace platforms (growth by 23% year-on-year), where the average purchase basket was PLN 121. Poles used it relatively often to pay for betting and settlement of service charges – the number of transactions in these two categories increased by 35% and 32% year-on-year respectively.
These data not only confirm the growing popularity of BLIK, but also its significant impact on the development of the payment market in Poland. At the end of the previous year, we celebrated the ninth anniversary of the establishment of Polski Standard Płatności, and in the next year, there will be another important event – ten years from the first BLIK transaction. Since its debut in Poland, it created new opportunities for mobile banking and had a significant impact on a change of consumer buying habits. Today, it is actively used by millions of Poles, regardless of gender, age or place of residence. It is a method offering several opportunities and bringing the generations together
– emphasises Monika Król, Vice-President of Polski Standard Płatności, BLIK operator.
P2P – BLIK service experiencing the most dynamic growth
The number of BLIK transfers to a phone number has also shown an impressive growth over the last year. From January to December 2023, the users made as many as 415.4 million of these transactions, i.e. by 71% more than one year ago. At present, P2P payments make up almost one-fourth of all BLIK operations. In 2023, their value reached PLN 57.4 billion (93% more than in the corresponding period of 2022), while the average amount of a BLIK phone transfer is PLN 145. It is worthwhile to add that in the last quarter of 2023, Poles used this method for settlements 123.6 million times. The value of all BLIK phone transfers made by the users from October to December was PLN 17.7 billion compared to PLN 9.7 billion a year earlier.
BLIK enables the users to make instant settlements between various banks – as many as 17 entities offer this service, which is very useful on a day-to-day basis. Last year, NestBank joined the group offering BLIK phone transfers, and 3 more institutions – Bank Millennium, Bank Spółdzielczy Rzemiosła in Kraków and Bank Pekao – decided to introduce the “Request for a BLIK transfer” service. This is an increasingly popular option allowing for even more efficient group financial management in various life situations, such as going out together or shopping
– adds Monika Król.
Significant growth in POS payments
Between January and December of the previous year, transactions at traditional payment terminals were also extremely popular among BLIK users. Over the twelve months, they made 364.2 million such transactions, 131 million of which were contactless payments. Since the launch of this service, 2.6 million users have activated it and used it for payments in 142 countries around the world. At the same time, only in the fourth quarter, Poles made 99 million BLIK payments at traditional stores (using a code or contactless payments). During this period, the value of all POS transactions was PLN 5.7 billion and the average value of a single operation was PLN 57.
In 2023, a continuous growth of cash deposits and withdrawals at ATMs was recorded in the system. From January to December of the previous year, their number increased by 23% year-on-year – to 61 million. At the same time, their value reached PLN 40.4 billion, which means the growth by 22% year-on-year. The average amount of an ATM withdrawal was PLN 661.
Trusted brand
The recognition of BLIK in Poland has been consistently growing. In accordance with the KANTAR – MDS (Meaningful Different Salient) framework used to measure the brand equity, in 2023, BLIK reached 44 points, well ahead of the competition. It continues to maintain a significant advantage over global brands such as VISA (24 points) or Mastercard (17 points). Moreover, the survey results confirm that BLIK is a brand recognised virtually by every Pole. In accordance with the average for 2023, the previous years’ trends were maintained: aided awareness was as much as 95%, unaided awareness – 75% and top of mind awareness – which means a brand that people think of first – reached 56%.
This year is a time to further strengthen the position of BLIK, work on new services and increase BLIK availability – not only in the Polish market, but also abroad. Recently, we have continued to focus on foreign expansion and opening for BLIK the way in Central and Eastern Europe. We already have two foreign companies – BLIK SK and BLIK Romania. We are working hard to make the system available in these markets and then launch a wider range of services. We see huge potential here, especially taking into account the e-commerce channel. For this reason, we plan to implement the adopted development strategy in months to come
– summarises Dariusz Mazurkiewicz.
BLIK to powszechny standard płatności mobilnych. Możliwość skorzystania z BLIKA w aplikacjach bankowości mobilnej ma obecnie praktycznie każdy z klientów krajowych instytucji płatniczych oferujących aplikację mobilną. Za rozwój systemu odpowiada spółka Polski Standard Płatności (PSP). PSP stale rozwija możliwości BLIKA tak, aby system był jak najbardziej funkcjonalny dla jego użytkowników. Udziałowcami spółki PSP są: Alior Bank, Bank Millennium, Santander Bank Polska, ING Bank Śląski, mBank, PKO Bank Polski oraz Mastercard.
Kontakt w sprawie dodatkowych informacji:
Klaudia Rombalska
Biuro Prasowe BLIKA
email: klaudia.rombalska@clearcom.pl
