Poles are increasingly reaching for physical cash less often, and new regulations and technological innovations are only accelerating this process. Renowned financial creator, Maciej Wapiński, presents alarming forecasts. They predict the end of the era of anonymous payments and a complete change in the way we shop.
What awaits your wallet in the coming years and does traditional currency have any chance of survival?
Cash in Poland is getting weaker and weaker.
Maciej Wapiński, better known online as Wapniak, does not mince words. In his latest material, he states plainly: this is the funeral of traditional money. Physical cash in our wallets is becoming a relic of the past faster than we think. Even in 2025, we used it in only 16 percent of transactions. Forecasts for 2030 indicate a drastic drop in this share to below 10 percent. This could mean that we are witnessing the end of a certain era.
Where does such a drastic change come from? Technology is winning over habits. Do you remember the year 2000? Back then, traders across Poland had only 80,000 payment terminals. Today, that number has reached nearly 1.5 million devices. Moreover, innovations like SoftPOS turn every smartphone into a terminal, making cash unnecessary even in the smallest neighborhood grocery store. As a result, we have covered the market with cashless payments at an impressive 98 percent.
Despite this, we unconditionally name BLIK as the king of the Polish payment market. Poles have fallen in love with this solution unconditionally. Just in 2025, we realized an unimaginable 3.5 billion transactions using it. Analysts estimate that this number will rise to 4.6 billion in 2026. Convenience, speed, and security make physical coins and banknotes simply lose this race against the digits on the screen.
The impact of regulations on cash
However, it is not only consumer convenience that is displacing paper money. Politicians and legislators are also contributing by systematically tightening the screws. Businesses now have to deal with a limit on B2B cash transactions set at 15,000 PLN. However, this is not the end. The European Union plans to introduce a general cash payment limit of 10,000 EUR starting in 2027. Additionally, the upcoming National e-Invoice System (KSeF) is tightening the tax system, which practically eliminates the gray zone where cash has previously reigned.
Wapniak points out yet another key aspect of the future. Digital Euro and CBDC currencies that may appear after 2027. Are we heading towards a world where every złoty we have leaves a permanent, digital trace? The data does not lie. Cash is disappearing before our eyes, and we ourselves, by choosing convenience at the checkout, contribute to this every day.
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