Award wins signal success for Polish newcomer VeloBank

At the recent Banking Technology Awards, winning both the Team of the Year and Newcomer Banking Brand categories, was VeloBank, a one-year-young banking brand operating in the Polish market. Emerging from the challenges of a comprehensive resolution process, VeloBank has wielded unparalleled agility and innovation to become one of the top ten banks in Poland.

Adam Marciniak, VeloBank CEO: “We had to be brave enough to question the status quo and truly embrace innovation to progress”

VeloBank was the only Polish bank recognised by the awards jury out of a pool of more than several hundred nominees from around the world. Whilst this is, indeed, a reflection of VeloBank’s cutting edge digitalisation, technology-driven approach, and customer-centric focus – it also speaks volumes about the potential of the Polish market to embrace and foster innovation in the online banking sector.

On winning the two awards, CEO, Adam Marciniak, says: “Receiving such prestigious international awards is a source of great pride for us, especially in seeing our logo next to some major global banking brands.” Marciniak credits VeloBank’s Team of the Year win specifically to having an unrivalled team of specialists, a combination of great personalities, and shared values.

“We had to be brave enough to question the status quo and truly embrace innovation to progress,” Marciniak says. “My ambition was to create a culture of originality within the teams, where people question the default, generate and recognise original ideas, and are able to voice and champion those ideas.”

Functioning as a universal bank, VeloBank’s services cater to a diverse clientele, including individual customers, small and medium-sized enterprises, housing communities, and large corporations. But, according to Marciniak, VeloBank goes well beyond traditional banking. “We are operating at the intersection of finance and other important areas, merging the best features of fintech and bank.”

Marciniak is clear to assert that VeloBank has evolved into more than just a well-organised institution. He explains how VeloBank has consistently attained exceptional results and how, in just a few months, it has achieved strategic goals that were originally set for a year.

According to Marciniak, after only 12 months of operation, VeloBank’s consolidated net profit reached PLN 446.7 million, against a target of PLN 400 million. Customers opened over 195,000 VeloKonto accounts, the flagship bank account, exceeding the goal of 150,000 accounts.

Yet, this success was not without its challenges. Faced with regulatory restrictions associated with the resolution process, such as constraints on its competitive offerings, VeloBank has had to find other ways to become a leader in the market.

A cohesive and highly focussed team was established to oversee strategy, which included a rapid and effective rebrand within just five weeks. With nearly one million customers, executing the rebrand across all channels was an immense achievement, with the vast majority of VeloBank customers rating the change positively.

Central to the wider strategy has been prioritising digitalisation and a technology-driven approach.

Building on shared values of openness, trust, reliability and entrepreneurship – and focusing intently on values that are important to its customers – Marciniak explains how the VeloBank tech team worked to create a modern institution with a deep understanding of customer needs and how to respond to them using the latest technologies.

VeloBank implemented its first chatbot based on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in September this year – serving as a substantive support for bank advisors in assisting customers interested in certain VeloBank products. Digitisation strategy has also focussed on remote customer access to services including mortgage loan approval. “The efficient use of technology is in the DNA of our brand,” Marciniak explains.

Another key innovation is the first-of-its-kind ecological shopping platform in Poland called VeloMarket, where customers can find a curated selection of products that are beneficial to the environment in terms of energy transformation.

VeloBank’s achievements are reflective of the remarkable success story of the Polish market more widely. As one of the fastest-growing economies globally, Poland is projected to grow by 2.7% next year, with potential upward revisions and more than 3% in the subsequent years.

Further, as Marciniak points out, the credibility of Poland has strengthened internationally, and foreign investors are showing a keen interest in the Polish banking sector. This is represented by an FDI to GDP ratio which is currently exceeding 4%. It is also evident, says Marciniak, in VeloBank’s story of resurgence and in its meetings with investors.

Marciniak highlights how the Polish market is an essential component of the broader European and global financial system. “Within our landscape,” he says, “we are navigating through political and economic shifts… we prepare for potential low-interest-rate scenarios aiming to develop our sales efforts, particularly in customer financing for businesses and corporations.”

Marciniak suggests that this approach should yield positive, long-term results, provided the macroeconomic situation remains supportive. He notes that Poland’s crisis-proof economy, coupled with a technological shift, positions VeloBank and the wider market well for the future.

“Technological advancements will continue to shape the business landscape across various sectors, including banking,” Marciniak suggests. “The agility and rapid adaptation of AI technologies to market conditions will be pivotal,” he says.

VeloBank’s story is a clear and bright indication that Poland is at the forefront of technological innovation in banking. VeloBank’s apps, services, and business models are setting examples for others to follow. Driven by the vision and innovation of its teams and leadership, it’s easy to see why this fresh face operating in the Polish banking space was so well deserving of their recent award wins.

About Adam Marciniak

Adam Marciniak’s nearly 20-year-long career was developed in the largest financial institutions in Poland: Bank Pekao, Pekao Central Brokerage House, Inteligo Financial services and PKO Bank Polski, where he was a member of the management board in charge of technology, cybersecurity and employee training and development 2017-21. He successfully reorganised the functioning of structures of many undertakings, focusing on process efficiency, cost optimisation and dynamic business development. He co-created solutions such as BLIK, IKO, Bank Cybersecurity Centre, digital identity in administration, a nationwide system of e-registration for COVID-19 vaccinations and the concept of National Cloud.

Maciniak was the chairperson of the presidium of the Electronic Banking Council at the Polish Bank Association, the IT Architecture Council at the Committee of the Council of Ministers for Digitisation, the chairperson of the IT Expert Group operating at the Ministry of Finance and a member of the IT Consultants Team at the Ministry of Health.

He has won numerous industry awards and distinctions and was awarded the title of an Electronic Economy Ambassador at the 10th Electronic Economy Congress. In recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in construction and development of the banking sector, the Polish Bank Association awarded him the Nicolaus Copernicus Medal.

In 2023, together with the VeloBank management board, he received an award in the Innovative Leader 2023 competition for the exceptional transformation of the bank and the implementation of unique solutions on the market, as well as the BrandMe CEO award in the 6th edition of the BrandMe CEO plebiscite. Together with the VeloBank brand, Marciniak is also this year’s winner of the Business Insider Polska award in the finance category.

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