POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Wojciech Ługowski, Lawarton Lugowski Kapica Spolka Komandytowa
1. Fintech Market 1.1 Evolution of the Fintech Market The Evolution of the Fintech Market in Poland in 2024 Over the last 12 months, the Polish fintech mar - ket has experienced dynamic growth driven by technological innovation, increasing users and interesting regulatory developments. The most notable development is improvements in the e-resident (mObywatel) application, which is part of developing a digital state in Poland. The new version introduced enhancements and fea - tures, like verifying identity using smartphones in offices, banks, post offices or with notaries. The list of features also covers driving licences, pre - scriptions and many other functions that bring the implementation of financial technologies to a wider audience. The National Clearing House or KIR (a state- owned company) also introduced the first dura - ble medium technology. Its solution combines blockchain and WORM technology in a straight - forward solution. The use of this technology is now skyrocketing and has been introduced by most Polish banks. AI On 12 July 2024, the EU published the Artifi - cial Intelligence Act (the “AI Act” ), establishing a regulatory framework for developing and using AI across the EU. The Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs has started working on a bill to align the Polish legal system with the AI Act. The aim is to ensure the safe and ethical use of AI, consider - ing citizens’ rights while supporting technologi - cal innovation. The Polish AI Act will also estab - lish a new special authority, the Commission for AI Safety and Innovation.
DORA The Digital Operational Resilience Act or DORA came into force at the start of this year. It has already affected the financial sector, but finan - cial market participants such as payment institu - tions, investment firms or crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) are still looking for proper compliance guidelines. DORA sets out vari - ous new obligations for all participants, most of whom find it challenging to comply. MiCAR The Market in Crypto Assets Regulation or MiC - AR, which fully came into force in December 2024, impacts CASPs and crypto-asset issu - ers. MiCAR introduces a complex authorisa - tion regime for CASPs and strict transparency requirements for crypto-asset issuers. However, Polish corresponding legislation is still being prepared. Although the draft Polish Cryptoas - sets Act contains some required regulations, it can still be changed during drafting. 2. Fintech Business Models and Regulation in General 2.1 Predominant Business Models Polish fintech companies operate through vari - ous models. Payments are the dominant sec - tor, followed by online currency exchange and alternative lending. Banks also integrate fintech solutions, driving innovation. Poland’s fintech landscape spans digital pay - ments, alternative lending, wealth management, insurtech, regtech and blockchain-based finan - cial services, making it highly innovative. Poland’s fintech sector is eminently innovative.
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