Cinkciarz.pl has announced that it is suing six banks for collusion in restricting its foreign exchange business in Poland. The company is demanding damages of at least PLN 3 billion.

The fintech reports that it is preparing lawsuits against the following banks: BPS, BOŚ, Credit Agricole, ING, Millenium, and Getin Bank (now VeloBank). It alleges that these institutions are obstructing the conduct of currency exchange business in Poland by preventing currency exchange transactions with them. The named banks denied Cinkciarz.pl access to their currency platforms.

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"Such actions of the banks directly influenced and affected the functioning of the Internet exchange office Cinkciarz.pl, constituting acts of unfair competition. This is because preventing Cinkciarz.pl from concluding currency exchange transactions has a direct impact on the time of completing transactions (Cinkciarz.pl has to transfer currencies to other banks in which it can exchange currencies, and then sends the currency back to the client of the bank allegedly being a participant in the conspiracy), and on the costs of operation of the exchange office (leading to an inadequate increase in these costs due to high commissions for currency transfers)", as indicated in the statement.

Cinkciarz points out that the inability to exchange currencies with the bank's BPS, BOŚ, Credit Agricole, ING, Millenium, and Getin Bank also prevented the fintech's customers from carrying out transactions on terms more favorable than those offered by the banks. The fintech plans to refer the matter to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) and other relevant authorities. It is also appealing to other exchange offices that these banks may have similarly treated to join the legal action it is taking.

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The information just published by Cinkciarz is another statement by the company in recent days. Yesterday, the entity announced that it plans to sue BPS for PLN 500 million for impeding transfers, mBank for PLN 1 billion for restricting market access, and PLN 500 million for blocking bank accounts. mBank declined to comment on the case, while BPS referred to it, explaining the reason behind the refusals to make transfers and threatening a counter-suit. At the same time, BPS indicates that Cinkciarz's behavior may be aimed at diverting public attention from the fintech's growing problems. It will be recalled that the entity has lost its license as a national payment institution, and an investigation has been launched.