Poland’s Horum Bank readies for launch abroad
Horum Bank will be the first Polish bank to appear in the country’s market in the past eight years, designed to be a mobile bank based on blockchain technology.
According to Polish publication Puls Biznesu, Horum is understood to be spearheaded by PKO BP ex-VP Jacek Obłękowski, who left PKO in 2016 and has since then been rumoured to be building a modern digital bank.
Małgorzata Siatkowska, who has also worked for PKO BP in the past, will be the CTO and “co-owner”, according to her LinkedIn profile.
It is understood that the bank currently has a funding of PLN 400-500 million (£80-100 million) to launch the blockchain system.
The bank will target primarily at SMEs and wealthy clients.
However, despite being founded in Poland, and by Poles, and based in Warsaw, the bank will most likely launch initially in one of the Baltic countries, where it’s seeking its banking licence.
The Polish publication reports that the project is in advanced stages, with a business plan, an initial version of the product table, a calendar of works and presentations prepared for investors.
Horum Bank is financed from private funds, but the bank is also looking for outside investors.
For reference, in Latin, horum means “them” or “these”.
On the topic of Polish-founded banks operating abroad, mBank will be launching alongside Commerzbank a pan-European challenger bank, to initially launch in Germany.
