General information

Alior Bank holds a comprehensive and modern product range for business customers of all segments: micro, small and middle-sized enterprises, as well as corporations. As at the end of 2019, the Bank served more than 224,600 business customers, and the combined loan exposure reached PLN 21.3 billion.

A new Department for Microenterprise Products and Services has been established to increase our share of the growing microenterprise market. Its main purpose is to strengthen the role of the Bank in the financing of sole traders by providing an adequate and specialised service as well as dedicated products. As at the end of 2019, the Bank served more than 190,000 micro business customers, and the combined loan exposure reached PLN 6.8 billion.

In the area of servicing customers from the highest segments, a strategy for corporate companies has been developed which involves the transformation of Regional Business Centres into Corporate Centres specialised in servicing large entities.

To learn the opinion of business community on Alior Bank’s solutions for companies and to even better adapt our offering to business needs, Alior Bank has established a Business Customer Council which is an advisory body consulted when creating new products and services and when streamlining processes for the business community.

The product range for businesses and the quality of service of business customers have been many times recognised by independent experts.

Accounts, settlements and deposits

The business account offering is adapted to the expectations of particular company segments and uses modern customer acquisition and product processing channels. As at the end of December 2019, there were 31,958 active accounts, which is 9448 more than at the end of 2018 (22,510 accounts), an increase by 42% y/y.

Alior Bank has offered its standard service through its network of branches and partner outlets, and micro segment customers are also able to open their company accounts online. The customer can remotely confirm his/her identity and enter into the agreement.

Micro enterprises can open the following accounts through remote channels:

The above-mentioned accounts are addressed to company owners who keep their books using simplified accounting rules. The offering is complemented by the Rachunek Wspólnota account addressed to residential cooperatives.

Alior Bank proposes the following accounts to the businesses which keep books of account: Biznes Optymalny, Biznes Komfort and Biznes Profil, under which the customer can adapt the specific solutions to the company’s operating profile.

Alior Bank also proposes to companies diverse opportunities to invest their financial surpluses. The traditional term deposit offering available through multiple channels is complemented with a deposit account with an attractive interest rate and automatic overnight deposits.

Added services

Web portal www.zafirmowani.pl for entrepreneurs from the microenterprise segment was enriched with new functionalities, including a communication and events module which enables users to register for webinars and conferences held by the bank as part the “Akademia zafirmowani.pl” and to get information on upcoming ZUS or Tax Office payment deadlines.

In addition, businesses holding a company account at Alior Bank can connect to the www.zafirmowani.pl portal directly from the online banking level. Due to automatic mechanism of pairing the account history with accounting documents, the customer can also check in the accounting module the status of invoice payments.

Settlement and transactional products

Alior Bank’s offering for companies was expanded to include virtual cards which assist businesses in managing significant volumes of online payments. They have no plastic form, but they operate only in the online environment as part of the Smart Data service which enables customers to generate a single card number for each transaction. Such solution ensures confidentiality of data and high level of transaction security.

Alior Bank offers to businesses:

• virtual debit card denominated in PLN,
• virtual credit card,
• virtual multicurrency card with access to 23 currencies with no currency conversion costs.

The existing offering of contactless payments for companies in the form of Apple Pay and Google Pay was supplemented in 2019 with Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay payments.

To meet the expectations of corporate customers, Alior Bank offers advanced products and tools to facilitate management of the company’s finances.

The package of transactional banking products and services includes the management of cash flows, monitoring of the collection of receivables and their ongoing identification through BusinessPro online banking system, and automation of accounting processes through BankConnect. The Bank’s offering is distinguished by the service of Automatic Cash Withdrawal. Liquidity management process automation offered to customers includes, among others, both internal and external transfers of funds, and integration of the accounts inside the Bank

Loans for business customers

Alior Bank offers a broad range of modern loan products by which current and investment needs of business customers are financed.

The Bank’s activity in the micro, small and middle-sized enterprises is based on a comprehensive, fully standardised loan offering. Pursuing its “Digital Disruptor” strategy, the Bank made available the possibility of processing the funding through its new loan app called Feniks KB.

In the Biznes Financial Package, the company receives under a single decision as many as five financing forms to choose from. The amount can be divided into: nonrevolving credit, overdraft facility, credit card, factoring, and leasing. Such solution enables the customer to spend money for any of the various needs related to their business activity.

Under its new offering for businesses (micro, small and medium sized enterprises), the Bank has increased the funding amount to PLN 3 million, at the same reducing the loan origination decision to 20 minutes. The funds are paid to the company’s account within 24 hours from signing the contract. The offering has been also expanded to include leasing and factoring.

To expand the processing of large companies, in May 2019 a new unit has been established, responsible for the structured loan area. Customers from the large companies’ segment are provided by Alior Bank with various forms of financing. Alior Bank treats each of those customers individually, and prepares bespoke offerings for specific entities. The Bank has also begun implementing a sectoral approach by introducing dedicated simplified risk policies for selected sectors and preparing tools and support materials for the sales network. Continuous monitoring of market trends and direct contact with entrepreneurs will provide basis for expanding the already defined portfolio of preferred sectors.

Changes in servicing corporate customers are accompanied by technology development of Business Pro online banking and product offering.

Bancassurance products

In 2019, Alior Bank has launched voluntary life insurance products to complement the offering of banking products for Business Customers. For this purpose, collaboration has been established with PZU SA for offering property insurance (property against fire and other disasters) for customers using non-revolving credit secured by real property. The insurance is offered in socalled individual model, whereby Alior Bank acts as an insurance broker.

EU funds and aid programmes

Alior Bank has for several years now expanded its participation in public programmes, both those financed from EU funds and national funds. This allows us to expand and make more attractive offerings for customers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A very significant part of funding awarded to companies by Alior Bank have been loans secured by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) using public (national and EU) funding. Alior Bank has provided, among others, loans with BGK guarantees as part of the National Guarantee Fund (this continues the de minimis programme); under COSME and Creative Europe programmes. For loans backed up with a guarantee, customers benefit from alternative ways to secure their intended funding.

Alior Bank has been a leader in sales of de minimis Guarantees. Since sales have begun in 2013, the Bank awarded 46,000 guarantees for a total amount of PLN 10 billion, thus supporting Polish enterprises.

Alior Bank has been also a leader in sales of COSME guarantees. Since 2015, the Bank has awarded more than 15,500 COSME guarantees for a total amount of PLN 3.5 billion. In 2019, the Bank awarded PLN 1.9 billion worth of loans secured with this instrument.

Almost 90% of new sales of loans for customers from the micro segment and 50% of customers from the segment of small companies are secured with guarantees offered in collaboration with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.

The offering of guarantee programmes also includes special guarantees addressed to innovative enterprises, creative sector, agricultural and food-processing sector or telecom sector customers.

Biznesmax guarantee

Currently, the most attractive loan repayment security for SMEs is Biznesmax guarantee, available under the portfolio guarantee line of the Guarantee Fund of the Smart Growth Operational Programme. This product is a unique combination of a guarantee with a grant.

This guarantee is addressed to enterprises carrying out investment projects with innovative potential at least on the company scale, as well as for those who intend to carry out pro-environmental projects, e.g., the installation of photovoltaic panels, thermal insulation of the company building.

Creative Europe guarantee

In July 2019, Alior Bank was the first bank to offer the Creative Europe guarantee and awarded the first loan with that guarantee. This guarantee supports customers from the broad creative and cultural industries, including audio-visual production (including films, television, video games and ultimedia); radio, visual arts, music, literature, performing arts, publishing, translation, design and festivals.

A very popular grant programme is a loan for technology innovation, for which Alior Bank has signed a cooperation agreement with BGK in 2015.

In 2019, the Bank issued loan commitments for a total amount of PLN 95 million, and loans with EU grants, including technology loans, were awarded for PLN 61 million.

 

Offering for telecoms

A broadband advance is a preferential funding addressed to telecoms, awarded under the Digital Poland Operation Programme for 2014-2020 (POPC).

By the end of 2019, Alior Bank awarded funding under the broadband advance for a combined amount of PLN 75 million.

In addition, for this customer group, the Bank has offered security for commercial loans both for investment projects and for working capital in the form of POPC guarantee. This is an alternative for customers who fail to meet the conditions for being granted a broadband advance.

Funding of thermal insulation projects

Alior Bank has offered a Thermal Insulation Loan. It is an attractive opportunity to finance energysaving projects in multi-family residential houses, addressed mainly to housing co-operatives, housing communities and Social Housing Societies. The loan, co-funded from EU funds (under regional operational programmes for 2014-2020) and Alior Bank’s own funds, has been now offered to investors from Lower Silesian, Lodzkie, and Podlaskie regions.

In 2019, Alior Bank was also awarded a grant from the European Investment Bank to support the funding of thermal insulation projects in multi-family residential buildings, which provides for, among others, refund of 90% of costs of the documentation to be obtained by the customer applying for a thermal insulation loan.

Trade financing

Alior Bank has offered its business customers a full range of products supporting their needs for trade financing. These offering is modified on the go in accordance with market requirements and legislative changes.

In 2019, Alior Bank still focused on process automation in the Trade Financing area for recourse factoring and Residential Trust Accounts.

Alior Bank has included in its offering recourse factoring in an automated process which allows the company to immediately improve its liquidity. This offering is addressed to all enterprises which operate in Poland, settle in the Polish zloty, and have completed at least one financial year with at least 10 months of activity. The Bank takes decisions to award factoring by automated process based on customer’s statements.

For Residential Trust Accounts, the Bank has centralised the service and enabled the customers (residential developers) to make queries and conduct daily operations on the account through Online Banking.

In collaboration with BGK, Alior Bank has introduced the funding of current liabilities for SMEs secured by the de minimis guarantee. The funding must be spent for a specific purpose and is effected under purchase invoices presented by customers.

The Bank has also replaced its prior accounts receivable insurer with Euler Hermes, thus providing more favourable pricing terms and acceptability of higher sub-limits to business customers.

To disseminate knowledge about changes in the legal and taxation area, Alior Bank conducted in November and December 2019 a series of meetings to present to customers some important changes in the legal environment, in particular regarding VAT taxation, including changes related to the Split Payment mechanism and introduction of the White List of VAT taxpayers.