So far, as part of our quarterly cashless.pl analyses, we have presented the number of banks' own branches and shown statistics on those that do not provide traditional cash services. This does not change, but for the purposes of the latest analysis, we asked banks to provide one more piece of information, namely the number of all service points, i.e., in addition to their own branches, franchise outlets, or points located in shopping malls (so-called islands).

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It turned out that, perhaps surprisingly, at the end of Q3 2024, the largest branch network defined in this way could boast Bank Pocztowy. This is all thanks to its cooperation with Poczta Polska, its majority shareholder. The bank had 132 branches, and access to its services was provided by 4.8 thousand post offices. As the bank's press office declared, customers can deposit and withdraw cash at each post office, order transfers, or set up a deposit. Applying for a personal account at the post office is also possible.

In second place was PKO Bank, which, at the end of September this year, operated 944 own branches and, together with franchised ones, 1,214 service points. Millennium, with 610 customer service points, closed the podium. At the end of Q3 this year, the bank had 345 own branches, 242 franchised ones, and 23 Millennium Mini points, i.e., so-called islands located in shopping malls.

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The data also makes it possible to indicate which banks rely primarily on their branch network and which build on cooperation with external partners who manage the outlets under a franchise license. Nest Bank, which has only 12 branches, all of which are its own, stands out in this respect. BNP Paribas's branches account for 97 percent of all service outlets. In Pekao, this ratio reaches 84 percent, in PKO 78 percent, while in Santander, mBank, and Credit Agricole, it fluctuates around 60 percent.

At the other extreme is the aforementioned Bank Pocztowy, whose own branches account for only 2.8 percent of all outlets where its customers can get basic services. Santander Consumer Bank also relied on a network of external partners. At the end of Q3 2012, its branches (38) accounted for 13% of all outlets operating under this brand (284).