The latest NetB@nk report prepared by the Polish Bank Association shows that, in the first quarter of 2026, the number of active users of mobile banking apps rose to 27.7 million. This represents an increase of 2.2% compared with the previous quarter and 9.0% year on year. More than 21 million customers used only mobile apps, while the number of active online banking users fell to 20.8 million. The figures clearly point to a shift in customers’ everyday banking activity towards mobile channels.
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the number of individual customer agreements providing access to online banking totalled 46,044,978. This was 1.01% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 3.29% higher than a year earlier. At the same time, the number of active online banking users stood at 20,849,783, down 3.26% quarter on quarter and 13.11% compared with the first quarter of 2025.
The number of customers who logged into electronic banking, either online or via mobile, at least once during the quarter reached 31,772,468. This marked an increase of 1.6% from the previous quarter and 4.6% year on year. The data suggest that customers are not moving away from digital contact with their banks; instead, they are increasingly choosing a different way of accessing financial services.
Mobile banking remains the strongest trend. In the first quarter of 2026, bank apps were actively used by 27,662,033 customers, an increase of 601,138 compared with the fourth quarter of 2025 and as many as 2,290,231 more than a year earlier. Particularly notable is the growth in the mobile-only segment, meaning customers who log in exclusively through banking apps. In the first quarter of 2026, this group numbered 21,095,572, accounting for 76% of all active mobile banking users.
Data on small and medium-sized enterprises indicate continued growth in access to electronic banking, although activity declined during the quarter under review. The number of SME customers with access to online banking reached 3,851,996, up 0.78% quarter on quarter and 6.08% year on year. However, the number of active SME customers fell to 2,490,168. This was 6.02% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 1.70% below the level recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
The first quarter of 2026 also brought quarter-on-quarter declines in payment systems. The Elixir system processed 555 million transactions, down 2.52% from the previous quarter, while the value of messages settled amounted to PLN 2.322 trillion, a decline of 4.88% quarter on quarter.
In the Express Elixir system, the number of transactions reached 162.731 million, down 4.30% compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, but still 12.61% higher than a year earlier. The value of messages processed through Express Elixir totalled PLN 83.72 billion, representing a quarterly decrease of 3.87% but an annual increase of 15.94%.
Quarterly declines were also reported in the Euro Elixir system. The number of messages amounted to 12,933,789, down 9.63% from the fourth quarter of 2025 and 2.02% year on year. The value of settled transactions reached EUR 93.79 billion. This was 10.22% lower quarter on quarter, but 4.02% higher than in the first quarter of 2025.
“The latest edition of the NetB@nk report shows that mobile banking is no longer merely an addition to electronic banking. For many customers, it is becoming the primary channel of contact with their bank. The rising number of app users and more than 21 million mobile-only customers confirm that clients expect services that are immediately available, easy to use and secure,” said Agnieszka Wachnicka, Vice-President of the Polish Bank Association.
The first-quarter results show that banking in Poland is moving towards an increasingly mobile customer-service model. Access to electronic services continues to expand, but the centre of everyday banking activity is shifting to apps, which are becoming the main way for a growing number of customers to manage their finances.
