Polish
currency exchange platform Cinkciarz.pl announced plans to sue six major banks
operating in Poland, seeking at least 3 billion zlotys ($750 million) in
damages for alleged collusion to restrict its access to the foreign exchange
market.

Earlier this
week, the popular fintech announced its intention to sue two other banks for 2
billion zlotys ($500 million), following the revocation of its payment license
by the national financial supervision authority, KNF.

Polish Fintech
Cinkciarz.pl to Sue Six Banks for Alleged Cartel Behavior

The company
claims Bank BPS, BOŚ Bank, Credit Agricole, ING Bank Śląski, Bank Millennium,
and Getin Bank engaged in anti-competitive practices by denying Cinkciarz.pl
access to their currency trading platforms. This alleged behavior has directly
impacted the fintech’s operations, forcing it to route transactions through
other banks and incurring additional costs.

“Such acts
of the banks directly influenced and affected the functioning of the online
exchange office Cinkciarz.pl, constituting acts of unfair competition,” the
company commented in a statement.

Cinkciarz.pl
argues that the alleged cartel behavior not only harms its business but also
deprives customers of potentially more favorable exchange rates compared to
those offered by banks.

Cinkciarz.pl
plans to file a complaint with Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer
Protection (UOKiK) and other relevant authorities, calling for intervention. The
fintech has also issued an appeal to other currency exchange services that may
have faced similar treatment from banks to join its legal action.

As
mentioned in the introduction, earlier this week Cinkciarz.pl filed lawsuits
totaling 2 billion zlotys ($500 million) against two other Polish banks, mBank
and BPS. The claim against BPS is for 500 million zlotys ($125 million), while
the one against mBank is for 1.5 billion zlotys ($375 million).

Initially, Finance
Magnates reported a smaller lawsuit
against mBank for 1 billion zlotys ($250 million), but later Cinkciarz.pl
announced separate grievances regarding the institution’s actions, which it
valued at a potential 500 million zlotys ($125 million).

KNF Revokes Cinkciarz.pl’s
Payment License

The Polish
fintech has evidently gone to war with Polish banks, all in reaction to last
week’s news that the
national supervisory commission KNF revoked the company’s payment license.

“As a
result of the administrative investigation and based on supervisory findings,
the KNF concluded that the company does not ensure prudent and stable
management of the payment services business. Therefore, there is a rationale
for revoking the company’s authorization to provide payment services as a
domestic payment institution,” KNF commented in a statement originally
published in Polish.

Cinkciarz.pl
operates through several different companies with various authorizations. The
payment license was revoked from the subsidiary called Conotoxia sp. z o.o. The
name is deceptively similar to Conotoxia Ltd., which is responsible for
providing services in the FX/CFD market and is licensed by CySEC.

While the
KNF has revoked the domestic payment institution license of the Polish
subsidiary and the Cyprus-issued license for conducting CFD transactions remains
unaffected and in force, Finance Magnates learned that due to the
similarity in names, the Cypriot regulator has reportedly taken an interest in
the matter.

Conotoxia Ltd is Not the
Same as Conotoxia Sp. z o.o.

Grzegorz
Jaworski, CEO of Conotoxia Ltd., the CySEC-licensed broker, issued a letter
yesterday (Tuesday) to “clients, contractors, business partners, and media,”
in which he “emphatically pointed out” that the recent KNF actions
did not concern the company he represents.

“Our
company Conotoxia Ltd. is a separate entity that holds a license to conduct
brokerage activities in Poland, among other places,” Jaworski commented in
the emailed statement. “Our company does not and has never provided any
payment services to clients and has nothing to do with the Polish Financial
Supervision Authority’s decision regarding Conotoxia sp. z o.o.”

As he
admitted, this decision does not affect the operations or the safety of client
funds at Conotoxia Ltd. in any way.