Financial services research agency in Poland
Banking and Insurance Market Research in Poland
Stratega is a market research agency in Warsaw. We recruit the respondents, run the fieldwork and deliver the data for banking, insurance and fintech studies in Poland. We work directly with banks, insurers, fintechs and payment providers. We also run Polish fieldwork to specification for international research agencies. Take the whole study, or take the data collection alone.
What we answer
Recruitment, fieldwork and evidence for banking and insurance
Take the whole study, designed, executed and reported. Or take only the Polish data collection, run to your own questionnaire, quotas and timetable. Either way, the work is built around one clearly defined respondent group.
Respondent recruitment, including HNWI
Our own recruitment team screens and books retail customers, SME and corporate decision makers, insurance policyholders and recent claimants. Affluent and high net worth individuals are recruited one by one for in-depth interviews, not sampled from a panel.
Data collection and fieldwork execution
Our own CATI studio, online panel and face-to-face teams run the interviewing in Poland, to your questionnaire and quotas or to ours. We report on quota fill, response and interviewer performance as fieldwork runs, not only at the end.
Mystery shopping in branches and channels
Branch, call centre and digital channel mystery shopping with shoppers who genuinely fit the product tested. We cover advice quality, disclosure, cross-sell behaviour and how a competitor handles the same request. MSPA member.
Customer experience, NPS and tracking
Relationship and transactional NPS, satisfaction and loyalty, benchmarked against customers of competing banks and insurers. Run wave on wave, with the consistency a metric needs when it feeds management reporting and incentives.
Product, proposition and pricing testing
Current accounts, cards, cash loans, mortgages, savings and investment products and insurance covers, tested with the customers who would hold them. We measure fee sensitivity, perceived value and what actually triggers a switch, not just stated intention.
Insurance, bancassurance and claims
Purchase paths for motor, property, life and health cover. The claims experience that decides renewal. What a bank can credibly sell alongside a loan, a mortgage or a current account. Includes digital journeys, app usability, and BLIK and card payment behaviour.
Methods: Respondent recruitment CATI research Online surveys (CAWI) Mystery shopping In-depth interviews (IDIs) Focus groups International data collection Customer satisfaction
Market perspective
Financial & Banking Market Research In Poland
Stratega Market Research offers broad consulting and market research services in the field of financial markets. We have conducted numerous studies into banking and insurance market in Poland, including varied methods. Depending on the research specification, we offer different studies. For instance, focus groups (face to face in our facility in Warsaw, as well as online), or in-depth interviews (such as TDIs, for example).
As the reporting of the Polish Chamber of Insurance and Statistics Poland shows, the number of insurance companies in Poland, as well as the overall shape of the market, has remained relatively stable for the last decade. Around 45 domestic insurers are licensed by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, roughly 20 in life and 25 in non-life. Life premiums are still less popular in Poland than non-life ones, and the gap has widened rather than closed: non-life now represents 72.6% of gross written premium in Poland, against 27.4% for life. The non-life sector in Poland mainly consists of motor and property insurance, with motor alone accounting for around half of non-life premium.
Retail banking is where the sharper change sits. The competitive battleground has moved from who can digitise banking to who can own more of the customer's financial life. Polish households hold an enormous deposit base, and the banking sector earned a record profit in 2025 on the back of high interest rates. During 2026 that environment has changed. The National Bank of Poland reference rate has fallen from 5.75% in May 2025 to 3.75% since 5 March 2026, and bank corporate income tax rose to 30% for 2026. Sector profit in the first half of 2026 was 8.4% lower than a year earlier, with interest income down 9.2% while fee and commission income rose 6.5%. Banks can no longer lean as heavily on the deposit-to-loan interest spread. They increasingly need customers to buy more products. That makes evidence about product fit, pricing tolerance and cross-sell credibility a commercial question, not just a marketing one.
2026 data review
A deposit-rich market
with thinner margins
Official statistics from the National Bank of Poland, Statistics Poland and the Polish Chamber of Insurance show why a financial services research brief in 2026 has to name a specific segment, a specific product and a specific date.
Household bank deposits, end of June 2026
Polish households held PLN 1,513.2 billion in bank deposits and other liabilities at the end of June 2026, up from PLN 1,436.9 billion at the end of December 2025. Household deposits rose by PLN 26.3 billion in December 2025 alone and by a further PLN 11.8 billion in June 2026.
NBP money supply statistics, releases of 26 January 2026 and 22 July 2026Banking sector net profit, first half of 2026
The sector earned a record PLN 48.7 billion in 2025. It earned PLN 21.37 billion in the first half of 2026, 8.4% less than a year earlier. Interest income fell 9.2% while net fee and commission income rose 6.5%, and impairment charges rose 10.3%.
GUS, 26 March 2026, and NBP monthly banking data, 6 August 2026Insurance gross written premium, 2025
Polish insurers wrote PLN 90.6 billion in gross premiums in 2025, 5.8% more than in 2024, split 72.6% non-life and 27.4% life. Sector net profit reached PLN 12.5 billion, up from PLN 10.0 billion. Premiums in the first quarter of 2026 reached PLN 23.9 billion, with life up 13.3%.
GUS, 2 April 2026, preliminary dataSources: National Bank of Poland money supply statistics, 26 January and 22 July 2026; National Bank of Poland monthly banking sector data, 6 August 2026; Statistics Poland, 26 March and 2 April 2026.
Of seniors already use banking on a smartphone
Mobile banking is no longer confined to young urban consumers. Any digital research design that screens out older customers is now screening out a mainstream segment.
Of seniors use BLIK when paying for online purchases
Almost one in three. Payment habit, not just account access, has moved into the older cohort, which changes who should be in a payments sample.
Prefer cashless payments
Stated preference across the whole customer sample, measured alongside the products and channels each respondent actually holds and uses.
Source: Stratega Market Research survey of 1,000 banking customers in Poland, June 2026.
Case study
Evidence that had to be good enough to pay people on
A selected example of Stratega fieldwork in retail banking in Poland.
Net Promoter Score for Citi Handlowy, as part of a global NPS programme
Stratega delivered the Polish leg of Citi's global Net Promoter Score programme, interviewing more than 1,000 customers of Citi and of competing banks. Results went to Polish management and to headquarters, and fed into strategy as well as bonus schemes and management compensation. That meant the data had to be immaculate.
The brief
Citi runs Net Promoter Score measurement as a global programme, with the same core logic applied market by market so that results can be compared across countries. Stratega was appointed to run the Polish wave. The requirement was not simply to produce a score. It was to produce a score that local management and headquarters would both accept, and that could be defended when it was used to set direction and to pay people.
What we did
Stratega interviewed more than 1,000 customers: customers of Citi and, in parallel, customers of other banks operating in Poland. This gave the client a real competitive benchmark, not just a comparison with its own previous score. Interviewing was run by our own team with the screening, quota control and verification described elsewhere on this page.
What the NPS measured
Beyond the headline likelihood-to-recommend question and its follow-up reason, the programme covered the dimensions that a retail bank normally needs to isolate before a score means anything operationally:
- Relationship NPS, the customer's view of the bank overall, and transactional NPS tied to a recent specific interaction.
- Channel and touchpoint experience: branch, call centre, relationship manager or adviser, mobile app, online banking, ATM network.
- Product-level experience: current accounts, credit cards, cash loans, mortgages, savings and investment products, and foreign exchange.
- Onboarding and account opening, including how long it took and how much of it could be completed without a branch visit.
- Complaint and problem resolution, usually the single sharpest driver of detractors in banking.
- Fee transparency and perceived value for money, separated from price level itself.
- Adviser quality and trust, and whether advice was experienced as advice or as selling.
- Competitive comparison: the same battery asked of customers of other banks, by product category, so that gaps could be attributed rather than assumed.
How it was used
Results were presented to the Polish management team and to headquarters. They were used to amend strategy and fed into various bonus schemes and management compensation. Research that carries that weight is held to a higher standard than research that informs a campaign. Sample composition, screening integrity, interviewer control and consistency between waves all have to withstand challenge from the people whose pay depends on the outcome.
Why it is relevant to a new brief
The same design logic applies to any bank or insurer that needs a defensible customer metric in Poland. Use a competitive benchmark rather than an internal-only score. Measure at product and touchpoint level rather than reporting a single number. Document recruitment and quality control so that the result survives scrutiny inside the client organisation.
Citi Handlowy completed the sale of its Polish consumer banking business to VeloBank on 12 June 2026. Retail customers formally became VeloBank customers on that date, with the systems and operational migration taking place over 13 and 14 June 2026. This research was carried out before that transaction. It is described here as evidence of research capability and design, and the client relationship it refers to predates the sale.
Sample design
We recruit the people who
actually hold the relationship
In financial services a job title or an age band rarely identifies the person who chose the product, pays for it or would leave over it.
Retail banking customers
Screened on main-bank status rather than any account held, on products actually used, on channel behaviour, and on recent events such as switching, taking a loan, making a claim or complaining. Older customers are recruited as a mainstream segment, not as an afterthought.
Affluent and high net worth individuals
Recruited individually for in-depth interviews, verified on investable assets, product holdings and advice relationship rather than declared income alone. These respondents are not reachable through general panel sampling and are handled by named recruiters with discretion protocols.
SME and corporate banking decision makers
Owners, finance directors and treasurers, separated by who negotiates terms, who signs, and who manages the day-to-day relationship. Company size, sector and banking arrangement are verified before the interview, not assumed from a panel profile.
Insurance buyers, brokers and bancassurance channels
Policyholders across motor, property, life and health cover, including recent claimants, alongside agents, brokers and bank-based sellers who see the purchase conversation from the other side of the desk.
Fieldwork and quality
Our own recruiters, our own CATI studio,
our own panel
Screening in financial services has to establish four things: which institution is genuinely the main one, which products are actually held and used, what happened recently, and who in the household or the company makes the call. Declared intention is kept separate from actual behaviour, and product awareness is kept separate from product ownership.
Financial services research also carries obligations that other categories do not. Respondents are asked about money, debt, wealth and claims. Recruitment, consent, data handling and incentive design are set up accordingly, and interviewers working on banking studies are briefed for it.
Recruitment of high net worth individuals for IDIs
Named-recruiter sourcing for affluent, private banking and high net worth respondents, verified on assets and product holdings, scheduled around their availability and handled with the discretion these interviews require. This is individual recruitment work, not panel sampling, and feasibility is confirmed segment by segment before we quote.
Focus groups and IDIs with banking customers
Face-to-face groups in our own viewing facility in Warsaw and online groups across Poland, with customers screened on main-bank status, product holdings and recent experience. Moderators are briefed on financial products so that sessions test propositions rather than explain them.
CATI studio, online panel and tracking
Our own CATI studio and online panel run customer surveys, satisfaction and NPS waves at scale, with quota control, live interviewer monitoring, recording and back-checking, and the wave-to-wave consistency a metric used in management reporting requires.
Mystery shopping and competitor channel checks
Branch, call centre and digital mystery shopping across Poland with shoppers profiled for the product being tested, covering advice quality, disclosure, cross-sell behaviour and how a competitor handles the same request. Stratega is an MSPA member.
Multi-country research
Polish fieldwork inside a multi-country financial services study
This page is about banking and insurance market research in Poland. Agencies running a multi-country financial services study often need one reliable Polish partner rather than a full-service supplier. That is a normal engagement for us. Where a project covers Poland and other European markets, we assess feasibility country by country and build a coordinated approach. Each market is reviewed separately for respondent availability, language, regulation, method and timing, while the project keeps one research design and one reporting structure.
Coverage, languages, methods and quality control are confirmed per country before we quote for fieldwork.
Discuss Polish fieldworkCoverage
Market research
across Europe
Start from a country page for local context on cities, language, respondent groups and fieldwork. Multi-country studies keep one research question while still showing local decisions.
Testimonials
What clients say
Research professionals, agency directors and marketing teams Stratega has worked with across Central and Eastern Europe.
Excellent project management, great team
Working with the Stratega team was a very good experience and I would not hesitate to do it again. Excellent project management and attention to detail make them an ideal partner for any research project.
Great recruitment, great respondents
Stratega helped us recruit an online community across several markets and we were impressed by the quality of the respondents: real people with strong opinions. The insight we got was very deep and our client was extremely happy.
Outstanding execution and research quality
The Stratega team of experts delivered the data collection on time and to a high standard, providing exceptional client support. Their willingness to go beyond what was agreed at every stage was invaluable with so many stakeholders on our side.
Stratega New RFQ
Book a 30 minute call to scope the fieldwork
Use the Stratega New RFQ calendar to discuss Polish data collection for a banking or insurance study, feasibility on hard-to-reach groups such as high net worth individuals, a multi-country brief, or the right split between full service research and fieldwork only.
- 30 minutes with a team member
- Microsoft Teams
- No obligation
Calendly is the right route for a large, urgent or already awarded project. Direct email remains the normal way to send a request for proposal.
Direct route to the team
Email Hanna or Dariusz without filling in a form
People buying research and people buying fieldwork are both usually working to a deadline. Copy a direct address and send the audience, the quotas, the timing and the method in your own words. Hanna and Dariusz reply with a worked proposal and a feasibility view within 24 hours on business days.
on business
days
Hanna Oleksyshyn
Helps international clients scope fieldwork, timing, recruitment and the fastest credible route to a proposal.
hanna.oleksyshyn@stratega.pl
Dariusz Baran
Supports international research enquiries, project scoping and practical fieldwork planning across European markets.
dariusz.baran@stratega.plFAQ
Frequently asked questions
How quickly will we get a proposal for banking research in Poland?
We send proposals within 24 hours on business days. Send the market, the audience, the timing and the decision the research has to support to info@strategaresearch.com, and a researcher replies with a recommended approach, a feasibility view and a cost.
Can you run fieldwork only, to our own design?
Yes, and it is a large part of what we do. Research agencies use Stratega as their Polish fieldwork partner. We recruit to your screener and quotas, field by CATI, online or face to face using your questionnaire, and deliver clean data to your specification, coding frame and timetable. We report quota fill, response rates and interviewer performance while fieldwork is open, and we do not approach your client. Banks, insurers and fintechs can equally take the whole study, from design through recruitment and fieldwork to analysis and reporting.
Can you recruit high net worth individuals for in-depth interviews?
Yes. Affluent, private banking and high net worth respondents are recruited individually by named recruiters and verified on investable assets, product holdings and advice relationship rather than declared income alone. This is individual recruitment work rather than panel sampling, so feasibility, incentive level and lead time are confirmed per project before we quote.
Do you run NPS and customer satisfaction programmes for banks?
Yes. Stratega runs relationship and transactional NPS, satisfaction and tracking studies, including competitive benchmarking against customers of other banks and insurers, at product and touchpoint level. Where a metric will be used in management reporting or incentives, we agree the sample definition, quota control and wave-to-wave consistency rules in advance.
What methods do you use for banking and insurance research?
We combine current desk analysis with CATI telephone research, online surveys (CAWI), in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus groups face to face in our Warsaw facility and online, expert interviews and mystery shopping. Methods are matched to the audience and to the decision, in Poland and across 20+ European markets.
Which financial services audiences can you reach in Poland?
Retail banking customers screened on main-bank status and products actually used; affluent and high net worth individuals; SME and corporate banking decision makers separated by who negotiates, who signs and who manages the relationship; and insurance policyholders, recent claimants, agents, brokers and bank-based sellers.
How do you handle sensitive financial data and respondent consent?
Financial services studies ask about money, debt, wealth and claims, so recruitment, consent, data handling and incentives are designed for that sensitivity, and interviewers are briefed for it. Research outputs describe perceptions, behaviour and decision criteria. They do not replace regulatory reporting, credit data or supervisory statistics.
Send your brief straight to our team
Send the brief, or send the screener and quotas if you only need Polish fieldwork. We reply within one business day with feasibility, sample, timing and an itemised cost.