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The aim of the study was to assess the degree of advancement of non-cash trade among Polish residents/consumers and to determine the relationship between socio-demographic factors and Poles’ ‘unbankedness’. The assessment of the degree of advancement of the society’s non-cash turnover was made by means of three levels of ‘unbanking’ defined by the author of the study. On the basis of the literature review, a research hypothesis was formulated: there is a statistically significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and consumers’ unbankedness. The research hypothesis was verified based on the results of our research using a survey questionnaire conducted in October/November 2019 on a sample of 500 adult Poles (18 years and older). The results of the empirical study generally confirmed the statistically significant influence of sociodemographic characteristics on the level of Polish people’s unbankedness. Age, education level, netincome per capita, and type of work performed ’significantly impact the Polish population’s banking level. Variables such as gender and place of residence were found to be statistically insignificant. The study showed that 10% of the surveyed population were unbanked, while as many as 87.20% represented level 3 (full banking). The problem of transactional exclusion affects young people aged 18-24 and older people over 61. The unbanked group consisted mainly of farmers, unskilled workers, the unemployed and pensioners, while level 3 mainly included office workers, white-collar workers and skilled workers. The least exclusion is found in people of working age 25-44. People in this age bracket accounted for more than 40 per cent of the share within level 3. As educational attainment increases, people move to higher and higher levels in terms of ‘bankedness’. The research showed that the higher the net income per person, the higher the level of bankedness among Poles. The results of the study complement previous analyses and point to proposed actions for institutions promoting non-cash transactions in Polish society.

Purpose of the article: The aim of the paper was to show connections between the instruments of cashless payments and economic growth. The goal was to find the answers to the following research questions: What is the current share of payments with the use of particular forms of cashless payments in total payments?; What forms of cashless payments are connected with economic growth measured by real GDP per capita in the group of countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe?; What is the relation between the value of cashless payments and economic growth measured by real GDP per capita in the group of countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe?Research methods: Spearman’s rank correlation.Research results: The authors have found that the highest share in terms of the number of payments in total payments in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe constituted payments with the use of payment cards, then, the payments with the use of a transfer order. Whereas, in the countries of Western Europe, apart from the fact that high percentage of payments in total constituted payments with the use of payment cards and transfer orders, more and more payments are made with the use of the instruments of e-money. Examining mutual relationships, information about correlational connections that occur between economic growth measured by GDP per capita and value of payments with the use of some instruments of cashless payments was obtained. The main conclusion that can be drawn after data analysis is positive relationships between the value of payments with the use of a transfer order, payment card and economic growth found both in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the countries of Western Europe. In the countries of Western Europe, the payments with the use of a direct debit turned out to be insignificant, whereas the payments with the use of instruments of e-money were signifiant. Taking into account the force of relationships, it can be said that higher positive correlation is shown by the value of payments with the use of a transfer order with reference to real GDP per capita in the countries of Western Europe (0.80). In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, it is only 0.48. Mutual connections between the value of payments with the use of payment cards and economic growth are similar in both groups of countries. What is interesting, high impact on real GDP per capita – about 0.80 – is shown by the payments with the use of instruments of e-money. This study may represent a contribution to further research, that is, an analysis of cause-and-effect relationships in the field of cashless payments and economic growth, including division of countries in terms of, for example, the level of wealth.Added value: Analysis of current literature on the impact of cashless payments on economic growth and an empirical analysis.