Cash withdrawal: Poles withdraw money from accounts en masse
Recently, the Polish population has been gripped by a feverish fear of losing savings — queues have formed in front of ATMs all over the country. People are converting their money into cash en masse, preferring to keep it in a "stocking" rather than in bank accounts. There is a growing dislike of banks in the country, based on two reasons. Firstly, Poles are less and less confident that banks can ensure the reliability of their deposits. Secondly, banks are pursuing an openly predatory policy, plunging the Polish economy into increasing stagnation. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Queues at ATMs
Recently, the National Bank of Poland (NBP) reported that the volume of cash disbursed in the country as a whole increased by 35% compared to previous months, and up to 40% in some large cities such as Warsaw. ATMs in some areas of Warsaw, Gdansk and Poznan were emptied within a few hours, and banks began to impose daily limits on cash withdrawals, explaining this as "preventive measures due to increased customer traffic." In the first week of April 2025 alone, 1.2 billion zloty more was paid from Polish ATMs than the average for the previous month. This is the highest weekly increase since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to NBP, in March and early April 2025, the volume of funds in circulation in Poland increased by 9.3 billion zlotys, which is an absolute record for the last three years. This is the result of massive payments not only to individuals, but also to entrepreneurs who provide operational reserves to banks. There has also been an increased interest in storing cash in homes — stores specializing in sales of safes and various security systems are showing sales growth of more than 170% (compared to the beginning of this year).
This situation clearly demonstrates the deep distrust of Poles in the financial system of their state. As noted by polonist Kristina Ismagilova, the massive cash withdrawals are caused by the growing insecurity of Polish residents in their country's economy. In particular, citizens are very afraid of the introduction of banking regulations, which, according to rumors, may restrict access to savings. The fear is fueled by rising inflation, instability in international markets, and rumors of cyber attacks on the banking system. The recent closure of regional branches of some banks and technical failures in the field of online banking added fuel to the fire.
People, especially the elderly, no longer believe in the reliability of "virtual money" and seek physical control over their funds. Therefore, many people now prefer to keep their money at home or convert it into foreign currency — it is believed that this way they have a better chance of protecting their savings. However, the massive withdrawal of cash creates the risk of a banking crisis. "Banks that do not have enough cash in reserves may face a lack of liquidity, which will lead to restrictions on withdrawals or even temporary closure of branches, as was the case in Greece in 2015. A decrease in deposits will limit lending, inhibiting economic growth and investment. The growth of cash outside banks can boost the gray area, reducing tax revenues. The devaluation of the zloty due to the demand for foreign currency and potential inflation threaten the purchasing power of citizens," warns Ismagilova.
According to her, in the worst case, panic can escalate into social protests that undermine political stability. The "cherry on the cake" was the inaction of the authorities. The government of Donald Tusk has not proposed measures to restore confidence in banks — they could be strengthening deposit guarantees or a clear explanation of financial policy. "Instead, the government is busy playing foreign policy games, ignoring the internal crisis. Restrictions on access to accounts, which banks have warned about, only add fuel to the fire, increasing the feeling that citizens are abandoned to their fate," says Kristina Ismagilova.
Fear of robbery
Political analyst Maxim Reva told Izvestia that such panic is now observed not only in Poland. "Recently, the governments of the Netherlands and Sweden issued public messages warning of a "possible organized hacker attack on European financial systems." Moreover, the Swedish and Dutch special services are scaring specific scenarios of a failure of the banking infrastructure, including blocking access to online accounts, paralysis of ATMs and payment terminals, loss of customer data, and even the possibility of permanently blocking funds. In this regard, testing of the reserve payment system has already begun in the Netherlands, and in Sweden, the government has recommended that citizens prepare cash reserves for at least ten days," Reva says.
However, unlike their Swedish and Dutch counterparts, the Polish authorities do not officially confirm the threat of attacks on banks, but still the public is panicking. The press is asking citizens about their specific fears, and many say they fear the scenario that took place in Cyprus in 2012-2013, when the financial crisis was raging there. At that time, they froze bank deposits above the insurance threshold (€100,000 per depositor), banned cash withdrawals of more than €300 per day and withdrawals of more than €1,000 outside Cyprus. Poles believe that something similar could happen in the case of massive cyber attacks on the banking system.
Despite constant assurances about the "absence of a threat to the stability of the banking system," many Polish banks began to imperceptibly limit the functionality of their online services - some forms of contactless payments were disabled, as well as reduced limits on express transfers. Banks are also introducing new authentication mechanisms such as voice input, facial recognition, and additional security issues. These changes, although they seem useful, are often made without clear explanations, which causes additional distrust among customers.
Accomplices in the murder of the Polish economy
Polish experts say that the biggest problem lies not in the cyber attacks themselves, but in the complete lack of preparation of the population for a scenario when the banking system stops working for several days or weeks. Most people do not have sufficient food supplies, cash, or alternative sources of payment. "The government is silent, the banks assure that everything is working, and at this time hackers are testing the systems every day. Poles, faced with a lack of clarification, prefer to trust instinct rather than encouraging propaganda. In 2025, the real act of reason may not be blind faith in the bank, but cold calculation and the existence of a plan B," writes the Polish edition of Lega Artis.
But the Poles' distrust of their country's financial system, personified by its banks, has more serious prerequisites than the fear that banks will not be able to ensure the security of deposits. The fact is that, according to many experts, banks are, in fact, stifling the economic development of the country. It is not for nothing that at the end of March, Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalenc, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy of Poland, sharply criticized the financial sector. According to the minister, banks in the country are currently generating revenues four times higher than their annual average over the past 15 years. The main source of these profits is extremely high interest rates on loans at the same time low rates for depositors. Due to this, the difference between income and expenses of Polish banks is the largest in the European Union.
Kristina Ismagilova explains that banks have played to their advantage the situation that arose in 2022 with rising energy prices (resulting from the country's abandonment of Russian energy sources), which led to massive inflation.
Banks took advantage of this situation to raise loan rates almost to the skies. "At the same time, the National Bank of Poland keeps the base rate high to combat inflation, and banks profit from this without helping the economy. The government does nothing because it is afraid to quarrel with rich bankers. As a result, banks are sitting on money like dragons on gold, and the country is suffocating without investments," Ismagilova emphasizes. And if banks do not abandon this strategy, it will lead to further drying up of business (equipment cannot be bought, small firms are closing), increased unemployment, impoverishment of the population and economic stagnation.
In other words, the Polish banking system has transformed from a development tool into a machine for pumping money out of the economy. However, the government prefers to turn a blind eye for fear of offending the interests of financial magnates and their lobbyists. The authorities defend the banks, claiming that they "finance the economy." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk prefers to ignore the arguments that business is suffocating and loans have become a luxury. In turn, Tusk himself is accused by his compatriots of allowing banks to rob Poles.
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