Award Winning Coin Deposit Programme in Poland

The lack of facilities to deposit coins presents a significant barrier to an efficient cash cycle. So, it was good to hear of a new initiative from the National Bank of Poland (NBP), namely a coin deposit solution, which won the Best New Product, Feature or Distribution Innovation category in the IACA Excellence in Currency for Coins Awards, presented at the Coin Conference.

The solution was also the subject of a presentation during conference by the NBP’s Krzysztof Kowalczyk, Deputy Director of the Cash and Issue Department.

Poland has a population of 31 million (plus, currently, 1.3 million Ukrainian refugees). It covers an area of 312,000 km² and the central bank has 16 branches throughout the country, one for each voievodeship (administrative region, or province), all providing cash services. Its currency, the zloty, is denominated in six banknotes from 10 to 500 zlotys, and in nine coins, from 1 grosz to 5 zlotys.

The number of coins in circulation has grown steady in recent years and now numbers 21 billion pieces, equating to 550 coins per capita, or 1,500 per household.

In 2017 the figure was 17 billion. Over that period, the frequency rate of return of coins to the NBP fell by 200%. The average outflow of coins from the NBP compared with inflows now stands at 1 billion coins per year, with obvious implications for costs.

According to a recent survey, 30% of Polish households store their small change in jars, piggy banks etc. At the same time, the NBP has received complaints from commercial banks about the difficulties they have had in exchanging coins for banknotes or paying coins into bank accounts.

Hence the launch last year of the NBP’s coin swapping service via self-service devices in its branches.

Testing of the devices actually started at the Warsaw branch in 2018, and a pilot was undertaken in 2019. The following year, an agreement was signed for the purchase of 20 devices (the CDS 9 from Suzohapp). These were rolled out during 2021. By the end of 2022, a further eight machines were installed.

Customers deposit their coins in the self service machine and are given the option of completing the transaction by crediting their account via the instant mobile payment app BLIK, or receiving a payment to the equivalent value of the coin deposit at the NBP cash desk.

In the case of deposits up to the value of 5,000 zlotys, the exchange is commission- free. There is a limit to one transaction per 30 days. For amounts over this, commission is charged at 5% to discourage bulk deposits by commercial enterprises.

The BLIK system was added as a function last May, allowing customers to credit their accounts instantly via the app. It enables up to 2,000 zlotys to be deposited per transaction, with no limit on the number of transactions. All deposits made via the BLIK system are commission free.

According to the NBP, the total number of coins deposited since the programme was launched in January 2021 is 350 million via 236,000 transactions. The value of the coins deposited is 190 million zlotys (€40 million).

The introduction of the solution has reduced the costs of issuing coins by 50 million zlotys (€10.5 million) between its introduction in January 2021 and September 2022.

It has also had a positive impact on the environment by reducing the consumption of raw materials and natural resources, and has been very positively received by the Polish public.

The NBP is now encouraging commercial banks to offer the solution, made possible by the BLIK app. As of last October, four banks had already signed up, with implementation under way in another four. Collecting money for charity is another option under consideration for future development.