Polish Money

In the past twenty years nothing has changed more than the Polish Money Industry, the massive growth in the number of banks, Polish, International and New Businesses.

When I first came to Poland in 1989 around $45 would buy 1,000,000 Polish zloty, a millionaire, (in Polish money),when shopping the main problem was keeping track of the number of "0"'s on the notes rather than the actual numbers. In 1995 the Polish Government dropped four zero's from the zloty, mainly due to rampant inflation. Thus made things a lot easer for visitors. Below is a photo of some old banknotes.

The new Polish money is made from modern plasticised paper and quite attractive in a communistic way. The zloty (Pronounced zwotty), is divided into 100 groszy, (groshy).

Banks have grown for many reasons, arguably the main reason is the large number of emigrants working in other parts of Europe, who religiously send their earnings back to their families in Poland. Coupled with the greater foreign trade brought by the entry to the European Union.

The old system was very difficult, at one point as the president of a Polish Company received my salary in UK Pounds, due to the inflation within Poland. This would be quite a simple operation elsewhere.

I had to go to a specific bank, get a four page form and fill it in, I then received the money then cross the nearest border (Check Republic), and receive a stamp to say I had taken the money out of the country. Then return with the document to the bank the same day.

ATM, (Cash machines), are very widespread as in any European country, and except all the cards as per the rest of Europe. One of the reasons for the large amount of ATM's is the fact that those with a Polish bank account have to pay to remove cash from their account. If you are traveling to Poland it may be better to withdraw money via an ATM, I find the exchange rate of Polish money to be very good, particularly from the major card companies, (Miestro, Visa etc.).

The banks open normal bank hours, although you may find a queue at the bank and any foreign transactions are bound to take some time.

Banks Operating in Poland

• ABN Amro Bank (Polska) SA
• ABN Amro Bank N.V.SA Branch in Poland (in organisation)
• AIG Bank Polska SA
• Bank Polskiej Spółdzielczości SA
• Banco Mais S.A. (SA) Branch in Poland
• Bank BPH SA
• Bank DnB NORD Polska SA
• Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej SA
• Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego
• Bank Handlowy w Warszawie SA
• Bank Inicjatyw Społeczno - Ekonomicznych SA
• Bank Millennium SA
• Bank Ochrony Środowiska SA
• Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Polska) SA
• Bank Pocztowy SA
• Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA
• Bank Rozwoju Budownictwa Mieszkaniowego SA
• Bank Rozwoju Cukrownictwa SA
• Bank Współpracy Europejskiej SA
• Bank Zachodni WBK SA
• Banque PSA Finance SA Branch in Poland
• BNP Paribas SA Branch in Poland
• BNP Paribas Bank Polska SA
• BPH Bank Hipoteczny SA
• BRE Bank Hipoteczny SA
• BRE Bank SA
• Caja De Ahorros Y Pensiones De Barcelona "La Caixa" Oddzia; w Polsce
• Calyon Bank Polska SA
• Calyon SA Branch in Poland
• Cetelem Bank SA
• DaimlerChrysler Bank Polska SA
• Danske Bank A/S SA Branch in Poland
• Deutsche Bank PBC SA
• Deutsche Bank Polska SA
• Dexia Kommunalkredit Bank Polska SA
• Dominet Bank SA
• Dresdner Bank AG SA Branch in Poland
• DZ Bank Polska SA
• EFG Eurobank Ergasias S.A. SA Branch in Poland
• Euro Bank SA
• FCE Bank Polska SA
• Fiat Bank Polska SA
• Fortis Bank Polska SA
• GE Money Bank SA
• Getin Bank SA
• GMAC Bank Polska SA
• Gospodarczy Bank Wielkopolski SA
• HSBC Bank Polska SA
• ING Bank Śląski SA
• Invest - Bank SA
• Jyske Bank A/S SA Branch in Poland
• Kredyt Bank SA
• Lukas Bank SA
• Mazowiecki Bank Regionalny SA
• Narodowy Bank Polski (National Bank of Poland)
• Noble Bank SA
• Nordea Bank Polska SA
• Nykredit Realkredit A/S SA - Branch in Poland
• Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski SA
• Rabobank Polska SA
• Raiffeisen Bank Polska SA
• RCI Bank Polska SA
• Santander Consumer Bank SA
• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SA) - Branch in Poland
• Societe Generale SA Branch in Poland
• Svenska Handelsbanken AB SA Branch in Poland
• Sygma Banque Societe Anonyme (SA) Branch in Poland
• Śląski Bank Hipoteczny SA
• Toyota Bank Polska SA
• Volkswagen Bank Polska SA
• WestLB Bank Polska SA

The above list does not include representative offices and foreign banks operating in Poland.