From a payment operator to a technology hub – 30 years of KIR

KIR originated from an initiative of the Polish Bank Association – 16 commercial banks and the National Bank of Poland – to professionalize interbank settlements in Poland. The first system launched for this purpose was SYBIR, which was based on the exchange of paper documents, and soon afterwards, the fully electronic Elixir system was implemented as the first in this part of Europe. In subsequent years KIR launched the Euro Elixir and Express Elixir systems. Through intensive transformation, in recent years the company has transformed itself into a sectoral technology hub and has become a provider of digital solutions for banking, economy and administration sectors. Nowadays, KIR, established by a notarial deed on November 22, 1991, is a creator of innovative solutions and a trusted partner in the digitalization of processes for business and the public sector.

Due to intensive technological development the company has added digital services for other economy sectors, including public administration, to its infrastructure tasks within the banking sector in recent years. KIR implements modern solutions in such industries as telecommunications, health care, energy or insurance sectors. – Since the start of the company activities, we have striven to respond to the challenges of evolving technology and legal changes. We are focused on promoting fully remote business processes. We actively support the development of the Polish digital economy. Thanks to the trust of our partners, we have expanded the role of the shared services’ integrator within the financial sector with solutions used by other industries, commercial entities and public institutions, says Piotr Alicki, President of the Management Board of KIR.
 

Digital economy foundations

Apart from services supporting efficient operation of electronic banking, KIR also provides tools for secure information exchange, mechanisms based on big data analysis, open banking and AML solutions. For over twenty years, the company has been providing e-signature services, including qualified electronic signatures and electronic seals, which are crucial for the security of legal transactions. In 2020 KIR provided an innovative solution in this area: mSzafir – a mobile electronic signature in a completely remote version. Today, e-signature is one of the key solutions for business, enabling to abandon paper and further develop the idea of paperless. In response to the rapid growth of online services, the company has also designed myID – a remote identity verification service based on the user’s own electronic banking data. MyID can be used both for handling any cases with public administration and businesses.

– By caring about the quality and safety of our services, we have gathered experience and built trust with our partners over the years. As a result, today we efficiently deliver technologies closely tailored to their needs. Our solutions help others unlock the potential of their projects and implement innovation. We bring together different market participants, sharing knowledge and competencies proven in practice. The key to further, sustainable development of digital services in Poland is intersectoral cooperation of many entities, adds Piotr Alicki

KIR does not slow down

In its activities in the past 30 years, KIR has demonstrated that it can not only adapt to new challenges and technological trends, but also create them effectively. The company also plans further projects that will bring tangible benefits to the economy while improving the quality and security of digital life for Poles.

– We are proud of the accomplishments of the past three decades. We believe that at the core of every relation, including business relations, is trust. That is why we are happy that our clients have been with us for years and trust our services. The last few months have been especially challenging for all of us and have required us to accelerate implementations of digital solutions that were planned for the next few years. The pace of change imposed by the circumstances in which we have been functioning for over a year can be compared, in running terms, to moving from a steady jog to a sprinting burst. Looking at the trends in the market environment, we can see that a serious marathon is ahead of us, but at KIR we do not plan to slow down, summarizes Piotr Alicki.

KIR has won numerous awards and distinctions. In recent years alone, the company received: in 2018, three awards from IT@Bank in the Product of the Year category – for the Durable Medium service, the STIR system and the VAT split payment mechanism; during the Electronic Economy Congress in 2019, the title Partner of the Year for KIR and in 2020 the title Project of the Year for mSzafir; mSzafir was recognized as a Fintech Project 2020 in the 3^rd edition of the Polish Fintech Map of the cashless.pl portal; in 2021 in the Master of Innovative Transformation competition in the category Technology and Market, the award for the Durable Medium service, the emblem “Teraz Polska” for myID and the Digital Excellence Award in the category Digital Strategic Perspective for mSzafir, myID and Durable Medium services.