PKO Bank Polski SA offers advanced technological solutions to its customers, providing them with complete, simple, functional and at the same time safe access to banking services using telephones. Digital banking at the Bank is strongly supported by the IKO mobile app, which the Bank has been developing for 10 years. The app currently has more than 100 features and offers a wide range of services, including non-banking ones.
The number of active IKO applications reached a record high of nearly 7.8 million on the Polish banking market at the end of 2023. Since its launch in March 2013, users have logged in to the application nearly 8.7 billion times and made nearly 2.6 million transactions for a total amount of PLN 709 billion.
The number of transactions concluded until the end of 2023 using the proximity BLIK in the IKO application amounted to more than 72.7 million.
In 2023, all bots handled more than 13.8 million calls, which is a record – an increase by 32% y/y. The year ended with more than 31 million calls, including 5 bots with a total number of calls exceeding 1 million (helpline – 15.3 million, voice assistant in IKO – 5.1 million, soft debt collection (reminder of overdue payments) – 4.7 million, NPS surveys (relational and transactional) – 2.9 million, cash loan lead – 2 million).
In 2023, the IKO voice assistant made a total of more than 2.5 million customer calls (+70% y/y).
The customers can use iPKO and iPKO biznes, PKO Leasing and PKO Junior as part of the Bank’s electronic banking services. These services provide customers with access to information on their accounts and products, and enable them to execute a number of transactions online.
* from the second quarter of 2019 a change in the definition – the number of retail customers who have an active relation with a product in the iPKO service
In addition, in 2023 the Bank implemented changes to the existing functionalities of the website:
The iPKO biznes electronic banking system is addressed to all institutional customers who wish to have online and mobile access to the standard products and specialist banking services.
PKO Leasing S.A. has been developing functionalities for remote customer self-service through the Customer Portal, a state-of-the-art online platform for lease agreement management.
By the end of 2023:
PKO Junior is the bank’s offering for parents and children up to the age of 12. Currently, many banks address their offerings to this age group and an important element is the mobile app for children. With its features, it teaches the child how to manage a budget on the phone. The use of the app is comfortable and safe, as the parent controls all the actions performed in the PKO Junior app in their iPKO service. The bank was the first to offer such a solution on the Polish market.
After 10 years of operation, the app has been re-developed in a new technology – Flutter. With this change, the app can be developed simultaneously on two platforms: Android and iOS. The Bank released a new version of the app in July 2023.
To date, 749 thousand children aged 12 and below have benefited from the offer. On average, 8 non-cash transactions are made by children each month and 98.6% of all their transactions are card payments.
PKO Bank Polski SA, with an eye to providing convenient access to its products and services, provides its customers with a wide network of retail branches and agencies, private banking offices, corporate branches, as well as branches located abroad. The modernisation and optimisation of the branch network is carried out on a continuous basis, and decisions on whether to open a branch on a particular micro-market are made by reference to economic criteria, taking into account the growth potential. In 2023, the space allocated to retail branches was reduced by 11.2 thousand m2 owing to optimisation measures taken.
At the end of 2023, the Bank’s branch network comprised:
In relation to the end of the year 2022, the total number of retail units decreased by 23.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of branches in the retail segment | 911 | 934 | 942 | 972 | 1,073 |
| regional retail branches | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| retail branches | 882 | 905 | 913 | 943 | 1,043 |
| private banking branches | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| corporate banking branches | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Number of branches in the corporate and investment segment | 34 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 42 |
| regional corporate branches | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| regional corporate centres | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 33 |
| foreign branches1) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Number of agencies | 286 | 349 | 447 | 492 | 538 |
| Number of ATMs | 3,056 | 3,011 | 2,976 | 3,022 | 3,080 |
The branch and ATM network is complemented by the agency network. At the end of 2023, the Bank cooperated with 286 agencies. The drop in the number of agencies observed during the last years is caused by a reduction in profitability as a result of the changing and dynamic market situation.
The Bank continues to improve the conditions in which customer service is provided and enhance the comfort of its operations by upgrading or relocating its branches to more attractive locations. The aim is to provide modern, userfriendly branches, tailored to the needs of customers and employees. The Bank has transformed nearly 200 branches in recent years. In 2023 alone, the first year of the Bank’s new Strategy, 47 upgraded own branches were handed over, including the completion of: 17 branch relocations and 30 branch upgrades.
Customer amenities such as electronic media and Internet workstations have been put in place in upgraded and relocated branches. At the same time, work continues on converting some branches into branches without cash processing in advisory positions, so-called cashless branches. Cash can only be deposited or withdrawn by customers using self-service devices. At the end of 2023, 50 branches operated under the cashless model (change by 17 branches y/y).
In addition to measures to improve the quality of employees’ work, in 2023 the Bank carried out a project to provide even better support for customers with disabilities. As part of the project, the methodology for determining the accessibility of bank branches for people with different types of disabilities was revised. Training on how to serve people with different types of disabilities was prepared and delivered – by 15 December 2023, 81% of the network’s employees received training. Upgrades were made to several dozen bank branches taking into account accessibility requirements for people with disabilities. In 2023, the Bank continued to implement a new service model for retail customers, based on the role of the Customer Assistant, i.e. an employee responsible for the initial identification of the customer’s needs from the moment he or she enters the branch and for arranging the visit as efficiently as possible. At the end of 2023, the Customer Assistant service model was in operation in around 200 branches.
PKO Bank Polski S.A.’s Corporate Banking Centre (CBP) is an optimal service model designed to support the development of entrepreneurs and meet their needs for financial services. Operating since 2018, CBP generates a steady increase in performance by successively expanding its customer base and increasing the level of customer satisfaction, which was confirmed by an independent NPS survey compared to other competing banks, ranking PKO Bank Polski S.A. 3rd (source: Indicator Polska, May 2022, surveys of customers with revenues of 5-30 million). In 2023, the threshold for qualifying customers to be served by the CBP has been increased (companies with annual revenues of PLN 15-60 million), which should contribute to higher year-end acquisitions and optimise the sales model.
By separating the Corporate Banking Centre, PKO Bank Polski can build a positive image and brand of PKO Bank Polski as a reliable business partner for Polish enterprises, owing to, among other things:
PKO Bank Polski S.A. has been providing comprehensive financial services as part of its Private Banking offering for more than a dozen years and provides customers with access to a wide range of financial products and instruments, from personal and deposit accounts serviced both remotely and in the traditional manner, through brokerage and treasury services, prestigious credit cards with a convenient insurance package, to a full spectrum of investment products and the rental or leasing of cars or yachts. Private Banking also offers comprehensive financing for current and investment needs.
The Private Banking Offices serve customers in the largest Polish cities: Warsaw, Gdansk, Kraków, Katowice, Poznan, Wroclaw, Łódź, Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, as well as Białystok and Lublin.
The Contact Center provides efficient and effective service over the phone, via email, chat and social media. Bank employees are available around the clock and provide comprehensive customer service by:
To ensure the highest quality and efficiency of service, artificial intelligence is used. A customer contacting the helpline is greeted by a voicebot. Its task is to:
In 2023, bots handled more than 15 million calls. This contributed to a significant reduction in service costs.
The Bank demonstrates attention to customer security. Special attention is paid to potentially fraudulent situations. The Bank educates customers on security to strengthen vigilance and prevent scams.
The option to confirm the identity of the employee calling and to verify the customer using the IKO app has been introduced. With this solution, the customer is assured that he or she is talking to an employee of the Bank.
Solutions to meet the needs of our customers are identified and introduced on an ongoing basis. In 2023, two specialised lines were launched: service for customers aged 75 and over and for customers reporting security threats. These solutions ensure that our customers are served with special attention and that the extent and manner of service takes into account their special needs.
Service is provided in English and Ukrainian. In 2023, the hours of operation of the Ukrainian-language helpline have been extended (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and service on weekends and holidays has been introduced.
The quality of service provided by our employees is recognised in external surveys. In the 2023 Moje Bankowanie survey, the Bank’s telephone and e-mail service obtained high positions on the podium. In the summary for the full year, it ranked second. This is a jump of 5 positions compared to the previous year.
The Institution of the Year survey recorded a high increase in the quality score of the Bank’s Helpline, and the quality of service provided to Ukrainian-speaking customers by an employee was recognised in the Polish Contact Centre Awards competition.
