Thirty terms worth understanding before you sign a loan contract in Poland. Each with a definition, key facts and an editor's note. Click a term for the full entry.
Bank margin is the fixed part of the loan rate that the bank adds to the interbank reference rate (WIBOR or WIRON).
BIK (Biuro Informacji Kredytowej) is the credit bureau set up in 1997 by the Polish Bank Association.
The BIK score is a point-based creditworthiness rating BIK assigns based on your credit history.
BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) is a model of financing online purchases where payment is deferred by 30 days or split into a few instalments.
Commission (prowizja) is a one-off fee charged by a bank or lender for granting a loan.
Credit history is the chronological record of every credit and loan obligation you have had, kept by BIK since 1997.
Creditworthiness is the estimated maximum loan a bank will grant you at a given term and conditions.
A debt consolidation loan is a new loan used to pay off several earlier debts (credit cards, cash loans, payday loans), leaving you with a single payment to one lender.
The down payment is the share of the property price you cover from your own funds, not the loan.
DTI (Debt-to-Income) is the ratio of your monthly loan obligations to net monthly income, expressed as a percentage.
Equal instalments (annuity) is a repayment model where you pay the same amount each month for the whole loan term.
Frankowicze is the Polish nickname for mortgage borrowers who in 2005–2010 took loans denominated in or indexed to the Swiss franc (CHF).
A grace period is a stretch during which the borrower pays only interest, not principal.
A hard BIK inquiry (credit inquiry) is a bank or lender pulling your credit history in connection with a filed loan application.
KNF (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego) is the Polish state authority supervising the financial market.
The Register of Lending Institutions (RIP) is a public register kept by KNF since 22 July 2017.
Loan insurance is a policy that takes over the payments or the full loan in specific events — death, illness, job loss.
The NBP (National Bank of Poland) reference rate is the core policy rate of Polish monetary policy, set monthly by the Monetary Policy Council (RPP).
The nominal interest rate is the annual interest charged on the outstanding loan principal, expressed as a percentage.
A non-bank loan is a consumer loan granted by a firm on the KNF Register of Lending Institutions but without a banking licence.
Chwilówka is the Polish nickname for a short-term non-bank loan — usually 7–61 days, small amount (100–8 000 PLN).
Penalty interest is the raised rate a bank or lender charges on an overdue instalment, running from the due date to the payment date.
„Anti-usury act" is the colloquial name for the July 2015 amendment to the Polish consumer credit act, which introduced in art.
The Polish consumer credit act of 12 May 2011 regulates loans granted to consumers up to 255 550 PLN.
RODO (Rozporządzenie Ogólne o Ochronie Danych) is the Polish name for the EU GDPR (Regulation 2016/679), governing the processing of personal data of EU citizens from 25 May 2018.
RRSO (Rzeczywista Roczna Stopa Oprocentowania) is the Polish APR: a percentage figure showing the annual cost of a loan, including interest, commission, loan insurance and any othe
A soft BIK inquiry (informational) is a credit-history check not tied to a specific loan application, and it does not affect the score.
UOKiK (the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) is the Polish state authority set up to protect market competition and consumer rights.
WIBOR (Warsaw Interbank Offered Rate) is the interest rate at which Polish commercial banks lend to each other on the interbank market.
WIRON (Warsaw Interest Rate Overnight) is the new benchmark replacing WIBOR on Polish mortgages and other instruments, phased in from 2025.