Financial technology law (FinTech)

RozporządThe Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the framework for access to financial data and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010, (EU) 1095/2010 and (EU) 2022/2554 (FiDAR) will impose new obligations on financial institutions. These relate to the provision of data on certain types of customer contracts to financial information service providers (FISPs) or other financial institutions. At the same time, financial institutions remain obliged under national regulations to maintain secrecy in respect of a significant part of their activities.  

On 19 February 2025, the Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers Act came into force. The regulation is intended to encourage banks to get rid of exposures related to non-serviced loans from their balance sheets, i.e.:

On 12 July 2024, the Act on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, as the first EU regulation in this field. Poland is also working on the national law implementing certain provisions of the AI Act and the act implementing the EU DORA regulation, which regulates the engagement of third-party technology providers, including AI-based solutions, by financial entities. In this context, it is important to note the forthcoming developments regarding artificial intelligence systems used for creditworthiness assessment, which are increasingly used by lenders.

On 18 April, the Polish government officially commenced work on a law implementing the provisions of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (hereinafter “DORA”) into the national (polish) legal system. The new regulation is primarily intended to bring the existing legislation in line with the principles introduced by DORA. The so-called sectoral laws relating to individual branches of the financial market, such as payments, banking, or insurance, will be amended.

At the end of 2023, European Union bodies concluded trilogue negotiations on the draft Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) . Representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the AI Act, the aim of which is to ensure the protection of fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law in relation to the use of AI solutions within the European Union, while boosting innovation and making Europe a leader in the field of AI.

As of the new calendar year, lending institutions will be subject to Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) institutional oversight, and the respective legislative changes stem from the Anti-usury Act . On one hand, the Anti-usury Act imposes a range of new obligations on lending institutions, while on the other it gives the KNF tough oversight powers that extend far beyond the current power to keep a register of lending institutions and formally examine eligibility for registration. This article will focus on the major amendments to the Consumer Credit Act (UKK) that will soon affect or already affect the Polish lending sector, taking into consideration as well the recently adopted new EU Consumer Credit Directive (CCD2).

29 August, 2023, saw the promulgation of the Act of 16 August 2023 amending Certain Laws to ensure Growth of the Financial Market and Protect Investors on that Market. This act, dubbed the Warzywniak – General Store act, amends several dozen legislative acts on issues such as the rules governing the functioning of the financial market, in particular Poland’s banking, payment, capital, and insurance markets. An amendment to the Banking Law of 29 August 1997 is particularly noteworthy. This makes changes to laws on outsourcing in the banking sector.

On May 18, 2023, the President signed into an act of 14 April, 2023, amending the VAT Act and certain other acts. Individual payment service providers involved in cross-border transactions will be subject to a reporting obligation as of 1 January, 2024. This will be an obligation to declare certain cross-border transactions to the Central Electronic System of Payment Information (CESOP), which is managed by the European Commission.

On 10 February, 2023, the Act of 1 December, 2022, on the Financial Information System (FIS) came into force. The Act implements three EU directives, including the directive known as 5AMLD.