How does a BLIK payment work?
The shopper chooses BLIK at checkout and opens their banking app, which generates a six-digit code. They type the code into the payment form. The bank then sends a notification to the shopper’s phone asking them to approve the payment in the app, showing the merchant and the amount. Once they approve, the payment is complete and the merchant’s provider reports the result.
The timings are short. A BLIK code is valid for two minutes, and once the payment starts the shopper has 60 seconds to approve it; after that the attempt times out and the shopper needs a new code. Stripe’s documentation says shoppers typically approve in less than ten seconds. Because the shopper never enters card details or bank credentials on the merchant’s page, the store does not handle sensitive payment data.
BLIK can also be saved for later charges. With recurring BLIK, which Stripe offers under the BLIK Model O standard, the shopper authorises a mandate in the banking app once, and the merchant can then charge flexible amounts on its own schedule without asking for a new code. Stripe limits each such charge to PLN 2,000, and not every bank supports it: its list of supported banks includes Alior Bank, Credit Agricole, ING Bank Śląski, Millennium Bank, mBank, Nest Bank, PKO Bank Polski, Santander Bank Polska and the SGB cooperative banks.
Why does BLIK matter for merchants?
It is how Poland pays online. In the Gemius E-commerce in Poland 2025 survey, as summarised by Przelewy24, 72% of online shoppers had paid with BLIK, ahead of fast bank transfers at 64% and cards at 43%. BLIK reported 2.9 billion transactions worth PLN 441.5 billion in 2025 and 20.7 million active accounts at the end of the year. E-commerce made up nearly half of those transactions: 1.4 billion payments worth PLN 219 billion.
It is still growing. In the first half of 2026 BLIK handled 1.6 billion transactions worth PLN 244.8 billion and counted 21.6 million active users at the end of June. E-commerce was 48.5% of transactions, with 766.7 million online payments worth PLN 124.5 billion.
It is backed by major banks. BLIK launched in Poland in 2015, and its owners are Alior Bank, Millennium Bank, Erste Bank Polska, ING Bank Śląski, mBank, PKO Bank Polski and Mastercard. Since 2024 it has also been available in Slovakia. Recurring payments (1.6 million in 2025, worth PLN 76 million) and BLIK Pay Later (235,500 transactions worth PLN 59.4 million) are newer and much smaller than one-off payments.
What can go wrong?
The code or approval expires. If the shopper switches apps slowly, types the code late or misses the notification, the code lapses after two minutes or the approval after 60 seconds, and the attempt fails. The checkout should make it easy to try again with a fresh code.
Recurring charges can fail at the bank. If the shopper’s bank does not support recurring BLIK, setup fails, and later charges can be declined for insufficient funds, a BLIK limit or a refusal by the shopper. Each case needs a clear message and another way to pay.
Disputes exist, although they are not card chargebacks. BLIK has a claims process that lets shoppers dispute suspected fraud, double payments or a difference between the order and the amount charged. The disputed amount is held back while BLIK decides, and the merchant must submit evidence, such as tracking details or a record of purchase, within 12 calendar days.
Refunds are supported in full or in part and, depending on the bank, arrive immediately or within a couple of hours.
How would Omno handle BLIK?
A merchant would offer BLIK in the hosted checkout, with the six-digit code collected on the payment form, or on its own checkout through Direct Links. The merchant’s routing rules would send the payment to a connected provider that supports BLIK. In the hosted checkout, if that provider were unavailable or rejected the request before the code is used, the payment would move to the next provider in the rule until one accepts. The order would stay pending until the shopper approves, and the final status would reach the merchant by webhook, which is the source of truth for confirming an order. The routing-decision log would record which provider handled each step.