Digital payments surge in Poland, study shows

Thirty percent of Poles no longer carry a wallet as digital payments surge in the country, a new study has found.

A Polish NGO called the Institute of Civil Affairs claims that the promotion of cashless transactions is "disinformation and propaganda," highlighting the potential consequences of losing access to cash during a cyberattack.

Image: Jarmoluk/Pixaby.com/CC0

"Up to 30 percent of consumers never carry a traditional wallet because they use a digital one," according to the findings of the Adyen Retail Report 2024, as cited by Polish state news agency PAP.

The data was collected between January 15 and February 1 in 26 countries, including Poland, which is described as "one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in Europe."

The Adyen Retail study involved a total of 38,000 consumers and 13,000 business owners. The Polish sample included 1,000 consumers and 500 retail company managers.

The report also found that "Poles are increasingly abandoning cash in favor of payment cards, mobile payments, and other cashless forms."

The statistics show that 32 percent of Poles would like to use solutions that speed up shopping in physical stores, 59 percent advocate for more self-service options, and 30 percent of consumers in Poland feel less secure shopping now compared to a decade ago due to the risk of payment fraud.

Additionally, 62 percent of respondents would likely abandon a purchase if they cannot pay with their preferred method, according to the study.

'Let's defend cash'

The Institute of Civil Affairs, an organization that describes itself as "independent of political parties and corporations," has critically assessed these research results, calling them "cashless lobby propaganda."

"Let's defend cash," it appealed.

PRopaganda lobby bezgotówkowego. #BrońGotówki!

30 proc. Polaków nie nosi portfela. Coraz częściej płacimy cyfrowohttps://t.co/une98j0069

— Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich (@InstytutSprawO) July 24, 2024

"The cashless lobby is very strong worldwide, including in Europe and Poland," said Rafał Górski, head of the Institute of Civil Affairs, in an interview with Radio Poland.

He added that studies promoting cashless transactions "often involve propaganda and disinformation" aimed at creating a favorable climate for card payments while portraying cash payments in a negative light.

"Poles are slowly being convinced that cash is an outdated form of payment compared to modern payment cards," Górski told Radio Poland.

"I can only guess that corporations like Visa and Mastercard, which profit from cashless payments, may be involved," he added, arguing that there are "numerous other companies" benefiting from the automation of financial transactions.

"If there is a cyberattack on critical infrastructure and we suddenly lose access to cash, we will face an Orwellian reality," Górski warned.

He believes such concerns are justified, especially in light of a recent global IT outage.

Rafał Górski, president of the NGO Institute of Civil Affairs, warned that a cyberattack on critical infrastructure could lead to a dystopian scenario if access to cash is suddenly lost, a concern he finds justified given recent global network failures.

(mp/gs)

Source: PAP/Radio Poland