Poland ATM security regulation and BLIK system updates

The Polish Ministry of Justice has introduced a legislative proposal, identified as the UC132 project, aimed at enhancing financial market stability and combating fraud, specifically targeting cybercrime and scams involving systems like BLIK.

The proposed regulations would require ATM and cash deposit machine operators to record images of customers. These recordings must be stored for 90 days to allow law enforcement, including the police and prosecutors, access to the data. A controversial element involves penalizing individuals who intentionally obscure their identity—using masks, scarves, or hoods—while using these machines, with proposed penalties including formal reprimands or fines of up to 10,000 PLN.

In a separate development affecting the ATM landscape, Euronet Polska has implemented a significant restriction on cash withdrawals using the BLIK system. As of February 19, 2026, the maximum single withdrawal amount via BLIK at Euronet machines was reduced from 800 PLN to 200 PLN, representing a 75 percent decrease. This autonomous decision by Euronet has drawn criticism from the BLIK system operator, Polska Standard Płatności, which stated that the limit reduces user convenience.

Reflecting the growing scale of these digital payment methods, the National Bank of Poland (NBP) has reclassified BLIK as a systemically important retail payment system. This reclassification follows data showing BLIK processed the highest number of payment orders among all retail systems in Poland over the last four quarters. In the first half of 2026, BLIK users conducted 1.6 billion transactions totaling 244.8 billion PLN, averaging 8.7 million operations daily.

Despite these regulatory and operational shifts, ATMs remain a vital part of Poland’s financial infrastructure. Data from the National Bank of Poland indicates that in the first quarter of 2026, over 20,000 ATM devices were in operation, facilitating approximately 97.3 million withdrawals totaling 100.2 billion PLN.