National Bank of Poland working on a statutory guarantee of cash payments acceptance

On April 15^th 2021 National Bank of Poland (NBP) submitted its comments to the draft novel to the Payment Services Act. The comments are extensive and very detailed, with multiple specific provisions proposed. One of the changes involves the matter of compulsory cash acceptance by professional vendors.

According to the proposed new art. 59ea Payment Services Act merchants shall not:

1. conclude the contract with the consumer conditional on payment in a non-cash form and,
2. refuse to accept payment from consumer with currency issued by NBP,
3. charge any additional fees for accepting payment from the consumer with currency issued by NBP,
4. differentiate the price depending on the form of payment.

The above-mentioned statutory cash acceptance guarantee measure would apply in B2C relations only. NBP proposes the following exceptions from the above rule, where the cash acceptance would be only facultative:

1. commercial activity conducted on the Internet,
2. commercial activity conducted in a venue without personnel,
3. during mass events,
4. if other acts state otherwise.

The novel to Payment Services Act is still pending, during the legislative process.