Leadership

• CEO and President of the Management Board: Ryszard Drużyński
  LinkedIn: https://pl.linkedin.com/in/ryszard-dru%C5%BCy%C5%84ski-768b4820a
• Management Board Member, Legal Counsel and Data Protection Lead: Paweł Dytry
  LinkedIn: https://pl.linkedin.com/in/pawel-dytry-b17b181
• Chief Commercial Officer and Board Member: Bogdan Hristescu
  LinkedIn: https://ro.linkedin.com/in/bogdanhristescu

Short Introduction

BLIK Romania is the Romanian operator of BLIK, a bank-integrated mobile-payment system designed to enable consumers to initiate payments directly through their bank’s mobile application. The company is developing the BLIK payment system in Romanian lei, initially focusing on e-commerce and integrations with Romanian banks, payment service providers, acquirers and merchants.

About the Company

BLIK is a mobile-payment standard originally launched in Poland in 2015. The system allows users to initiate transactions through the mobile-banking application of a participating bank, commonly by generating a unique six-digit code that is valid for two minutes and confirming the transaction inside the banking application.

BLIK Romania S.A. was registered in Romania in December 2022, and the launch of its local activities was announced in March 2023. The company is responsible for developing and operating the BLIK payment system on the Romanian market, adapting the system to local legal, regulatory, settlement and commercial requirements.

The Romanian operation is led by Ryszard Drużyński, who previously coordinated the project through which Polski Standard Płatności prepared BLIK’s entry into Romania. The local team combines experience in banking technology, payments, operations, regulatory compliance and business development.

Unlike a standalone digital wallet, BLIK is designed to be incorporated into the applications of participating banks and payment institutions. Consumers therefore access the service through their existing mobile-banking application rather than through a separate BLIK consumer application. On the merchant side, acceptance is enabled through payment service providers and acquirers connected to the BLIK payment system.

Following authorisation from the National Bank of Romania, the system can be operated and settled in Romanian lei and opened to payment service providers authorised to provide payment acceptance and electronic-payment-instrument issuance services in Romania.

The company announced that its first stage of development in Romania would focus on e-commerce payments, followed by a gradual expansion into additional payment channels. The broader BLIK system supports online and physical-store payments, contactless transactions, ATM operations and person-to-person transfers, although the availability of each functionality in Romania depends on integrations with participating local banks, acquirers and other payment service providers.

(BLIK Romania website; BLIK Romania – About Us; BLIK Romania authorisation announcement)

Products & Services

• BLIK payment-system operation in Romania – development and administration of the local BLIK payment infrastructure, operating in Romanian lei and connecting participating banks, payment institutions, acquirers and other payment service providers.
• Mobile-banking payment functionality – integration of BLIK into the applications of participating banks, enabling users to initiate and confirm transactions using their existing banking relationship.
• Six-digit BLIK code payments – generation of a unique six-digit code inside a participating banking application. The code is entered on the merchant’s website, at the payment terminal or at an ATM and the transaction is subsequently confirmed in the banking application.
• E-commerce payments – online payments initiated with a BLIK code or another supported BLIK authorisation flow. E-commerce has been identified as the initial development priority for the Romanian market.
• Payments without repeatedly entering a code – the broader BLIK system supports payment flows in which a user can save or authorise a merchant or browser, enabling subsequent transactions without generating a new code each time. Romanian availability depends on local implementation.
• Physical-store payments – BLIK supports payments at compatible point-of-sale terminals, using either a BLIK code or, where implemented, contactless functionality.
• Contactless mobile payments – the broader BLIK product suite includes contactless payment functionality. Availability depends on the participating bank, device, operating system and local market implementation.
• ATM cash withdrawals and deposits – BLIK can enable users to withdraw or deposit cash at compatible ATMs without using a physical payment card.
• Person-to-person transfers – the system can support instant transfers using a recipient’s telephone number instead of manually entering a bank-account number.
• Recurring payments – functionality designed for subscriptions and other repeat-payment arrangements, with the initial mandate confirmed by the user through the banking application.
• BLIK Cheques – one-time codes protected by a password that can be used for selected payments or ATM withdrawals. This is part of the broader BLIK product portfolio, but public information does not confirm its availability in Romania.
• Bank and payment-provider integration – technical and operational onboarding for issuers, acquirers, clearing participants and other eligible payment service providers joining the BLIK system.
• Merchant acceptance – enablement of BLIK as a payment method for merchants through integrated acquirers and payment service providers.
• The listed functions describe the BLIK system’s wider product capabilities. Individual services should not be presented as currently available throughout Romania unless confirmed by the relevant participating bank, payment provider or merchant.

(BLIK Solutions; BLIK Romania website; BLIK Romania authorisation announcement)

Licences & Regulatory Status

National Bank of Romania authorisation: BLIK Romania S.A. received unconditional authorisation from the National Bank of Romania to operate the BLIK payment system on the Romanian market. The authorisation was granted on 1 October 2024.

Legal framework: The payment system was authorised pursuant to National Bank of Romania Regulation No. 3/2018 concerning the monitoring of payment systems and securities-settlement systems.

Regulatory significance: According to BLIK Romania, it was the first payment system in Romania to receive authorisation under National Bank of Romania Regulation No. 3/2018.

Scope of the authorisation: The decision enables BLIK Romania to operate the payment system in Romanian lei and to make the infrastructure available to payment service providers authorised in Romania to issue electronic payment instruments and accept payment transactions.

Payment-system operator status: The authorisation concerns the administration and operation of the BLIK payment system. It should not be described as a banking licence, payment-institution licence or electronic-money-institution licence.

Participating institutions: Banks, payment institutions, acquirers and other payment service providers connecting to BLIK remain subject to their own regulatory licences, participation requirements and compliance obligations.

Commercial availability: Regulatory authorisation enables the operation and rollout of the system, but the availability of BLIK to individual Romanian consumers depends on implementation by participating banks and payment providers. The public Romanian website does not currently provide a definitive list of live participating Romanian banks.

Outdated website wording: Certain sections of the Romanian consumer website still state that BLIK Romania is awaiting approval from the National Bank of Romania. This information predates and conflicts with the company’s official announcement confirming that unconditional authorisation was granted on 1 October 2024. The later regulatory announcement should therefore be treated as the current information.

(BLIK Romania – BNR authorisation announcement; BLIK Romania company information)