in Poland, therefore one should expect great possibilities of development of this market, though many barriers of development are evident. Except for safety, the quality of delivered services and accessibility the level of wealth of society may be the barrier. The internet customers are twice and a half more profit-yielding than customers using only conventional form of banking service rendering. Pen- tor's investigations carried on at the end of 2002 showed that bank internet services are used mainly by men (56%), aged up to 29 years (49%) and 3039 years (34%), of secondary education level (52%) and university education level (34%). Most often they are white collar workers (37%), managers (24%) as well as students (19%), residing in big cities with over 200 thousand inhabitants, (46%) earning over PLN 2 000 (59%), representing high social class (39%) and middle social class (30%)8.
In comparison with other countries percentage of individual persons using internet services in Poland is still very low. According to research presented in The Final eEurope + Progress Report, only 18% of retail customers in Poland declared using electronic banking, on the other hand in countries like Estonia or Latvia it is significantly higher, reaching 75% and 33% levels, respectively .
Owing to use of IT in the retail - banking sector the internet banking system has developed most energetically, though the telephone banking system is a very good complementary solution to it, using both stationary and cellular telephones (the mobile banking); its development is correlated with evolution of cellular telephony. It is foreseen that the annual world number of subscribers of cellular telephony services will grow up on average by 24.4 % to1,8 billion users in 2005. More and more bargain offers placed by operators have essential meaning for development of this market . The West- European banks perceive the mobile banking system as priority of development. It is proven by estimated expenses for wireless technologies, which in total amounted to: USD 12 million in 1999 , USD 43 million in 2000, USD 116 million in 2001, USD 254 million in 2002. The mobile banking in Poland is still underdeveloped, though there is also an opinion that this situation can change which is indicated by growing number of persons using cellular phones in contacts with bank. So far bank operations via SMS are most often of passive character, and number of clients using WAP is negligible.The bank retail - customers most willingly realize operations using cash cards in cash dispensers. In 2002 the owners of cards could use about 7 thou. (6 941) cash dispensers in Poland, and of that the PKO BP S.A., Pekao S.A and Euronet cash dispensers are most often encountered in the streets. Undoubtedly, the PKO BP Bank is the largest retail - bank of the highest number of bank branches, as well as of the most developed and sophisticated cash - dispenser network with its 1 700 cash dispensers in 2002 all over Poland. There are also banks on the Polish market without their own network of cash dispensers. Due to the fact that the cash dispensers are the essential factor of bank competitiveness and they often determine choice of bank therefore some banks take advantage of outsource potential of the Euronet cash - dispenser company. The banks that have not got their own cash dispensers and use potential of the Euronet company include eg.: the Lukas Bank S. A., the Multibank S. A., the mBank. Cash dispensers, despite their unquestionable advantages have a basic defect - their introduction involves large expenditures.
3. Electronic banking - strong points, weak points, opportunities and threats
The influence of IT on retail- banking sector transformations can be considered both in economic, institutional and social aspect. The introduction of IT to retail - banking causes among others: - limitation of costs of realization of banking business from customer's and bank's viewpoint,
easier access to information and easiness in taking decisions,
reduction of bank staff,
higher quality of offered services,
increased number of banking operations,
possibility of reaching customers from geographically remote markets,
possibility of introduction of new products and services or their improvement,
intensification of bank market competitiveness.
In general opinion IT is the factor that creates
competitive prevalence. Introduction and skillful use of IT can make profit that resolves itself mainly into reduction of transaction costs and time of processing, higher quality of the customer's service, the bank efficiency improvement owing to the extension of operating scale, introduction of new products, and maintenance of present and winning of new customers. The thesis about IT efficiency requires, however, verification. Referring to the European Central Bank research on the direct influence of expenditures on IT on profitability growth rate of production factors on the level of individual sectors producing and
