POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Wojciech Ługowski, Lawarton Lugowski Kapica Spolka Komandytowa
2.5 Regulatory Sandbox In 2019, KNF developed an Innovation Hub Pro - gramme to allow fintech companies to test new solutions in a controlled environment, ensuring compliance with legal standards while fostering innovation. The aim was to promote the intro - duction of innovative technologies into the Pol - ish financial market and test them in a safe envi - ronment. Another aim of the Programme was to improve communication with legacy players and fintech companies. Poland’s Innovation Hub does not provide exemptions from financial regulations but offers regulatory guidance and support for fintech firms navigating compliance requirements instead. Eligible participants include start-ups, financial institutions and technology providers developing innovative solutions. Applicants must demon - strate that their solutions involve a high degree of innovation and have potential benefits for the financial sector. A key advantage of the Programme is enhanced communication between fintechs, legacy finan - cial institutions and regulators, allowing for a more flexible regulatory approach while main - taining market stability. Although Poland has not yet introduced a full-scale sandbox that grants temporary regulatory relief, the Innovation Hub serves as a stepping stone toward a more struc - tured fintech-friendly regulatory framework. 2.6 Jurisdiction of Regulators KNF is the primary financial regulator, oversee - ing banks, payment operators, investment firms, AML and CFT compliance. Under the proposed Cryptoassets Act, it will also supervise the cryp - to-asset market. The General Inspector of Financial Informa - tion (the “GIIF” ), operating under the Ministry
vide and their customer type. Different verti - cals must also comply with various regulatory requirements, including disclosure obligations. There are two most commonly used compensa - tion models: the commission-based model and the fee-based model. Generally, regulated participants (eg, banks or payment institutions) are subject to various disclosure regimes. This applies to specific pre- contractual and ongoing information require - ments. Obligations are stricter if the service recipient is a consumer. These result from EU consumer protection laws (eg, the Consumer Credit Directive or the Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services Directive) which have been implemented into the Polish legal framework. 2.4 Variations Between the Regulation of Fintech and Legacy Players Traditional financial institutions and fintech com - panies must comply with financial regulations if their activities are within a regulated scope. However, traditional banks face stricter require - ments under Basel III, Solvency II and broader capital and risk rules. Fintech firms often navigate regulatory uncer - tainty due to innovative services that may not fit existing frameworks. Polish authorities address this through the Innovation Hub and sandbox environments, offering guidance and supervised testing with reduced compliance burdens. Some fintech models exploit regulatory gaps to avoid licensing, particularly in crypto, DeFi and alternative payments. While fostering innova - tion, this raises consumer protection and finan - cial stability concerns. Regulators are assessing these models, with potential future legislation expanding oversight.
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