Page 30 - RBI FIntech Atlas 2018

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Spotlight Poland
Poland is a European leader in the implementation of modern banking solutions such as contactless payment, and sector-wide tools such as the BLIK mobile payment service.
The strength of the ntech scene in 2018 is demonstrated by the level of innovation of many Polish banks, including Bank Pekao, ING Bank, BZ WBK, BNP Paribas and PKO Bank Polski. For example, ING Bank S´la˛ski has introduced imoje, Poland’s rst bank payment gateway and E-paragon, Visa’s Innovation Incubator, is working on a project to eradicate paper receipts.
The main challenges facing the sector include the relatively low level of VC and equity funding activity and the lack of a single comprehensive support system for startups. A further hurdle is the gap in understanding between of cialdom and the ntech scene as exempli ed by the ban on initial coin offerings imposed by the regulator KNF.
Skyline of Warsaw, Poland
State support for ntechs includes the Special Task Force for Financial Innovation and the regulatory sandbox of the KNF, which aim to improve regulation. The KNF has also set up an innovation hub program for both startups and established companies with innovative IT-based products or services. And the StartInPoland umbrella program covers both the startup investments of the Polish Development Fund and the expanding accelerator programs of the Polish Agency for Developing Entrepreneurship.
Companies with ntech hubs in Poland include ING Bank S´la˛ski, mBank, Pekao SA, PKO BP, Credit Suisse, Citi, UBS, Liber Finance Group, Roche and Google, whose Warsaw Campus, opened in 2015, was its rst in the CEE Region and fth worldwide. Early-stage startups are usually funded via bootstrapping or with support from the EU or traditional VC or PE rms such as SpeedUp Venture Capital Group or Data Ventures.
A highlight of 2018 was the sale of Dotpay/eCard (Dotcard) to Nets for €73M.