The Up and Go card was created as a result of a cooperation between British fintech company DiPocket and corner store franchise Żabka. The company praises the card as a “new solution on the Polish market that allows customers to use a payment card and set up a personal account without the need to visit a bank”. The user buys a plastic card at a Żabka store, then installs the Up and GO app on their smartphone (available in the App Store and Google Play), registers a new account, activates the card and transfers any amount of money to it.
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There are two options for registering: taking a selfie and sending a photo of your ID. If you decide to only send a selfie, you will have access to limited functionalities - for example, you will only be able to use the card in Poland, within certain payment limits. If you submit a photo of an ID, such as an identity card, you will have full access to the product in four available currencies - złoty, euro, British pound and US dollar.
The user's name is not included on the card, but it does have a number, expiration date and CVV code on the back. There are daily, monthly and yearly transaction limits. For example, when shopping in złoty with access to all functionalities, you can spend up to 40 thousand złoty a day and 150 thousand złoty a month. With limited functionality (the selfie option) you can only spend one thousand złoty a day or a month and up to 10 thousand a year.
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There are no fees for using the card or making domestic transfers, as well as for withdrawing money from Santander ATMs or using cashback at Żabka stores. Withdrawing cash from other ATMs in Poland and the rest of Europe involves a 5 zł (or 1 pound, 1.20 euro or 1.5 dollar) fee. A euro bank transfer within the EU will cost 5 zł, transfers in other currencies - 15 zł, express transfers - 45 zł. The card can be used with Google Pay.
Żabka stores used to offer pre-paid Mastercard cards from Bank Zachodni WBK (now Santander), but after the Financial Supervision Authority introduced restrictions on this type of cards, they practically vanished from the market. It seems that the product is back, offered by a fintech company operating under British financial supervision. There is talk of Santander investing in DiPocket, and this cooperation between the two companies on the Polish market seems to suggest that there might be some truth to the rumors. Customers should be aware that money kept on DiPocket accounts is not covered by the Polish Bank Guarantee Fund.
