Polish currency exchange platform Cinkciarz.pl announced plans to sue six major banks operating in Poland. It is 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.