Full definition
BIK S.A. (Biuro Informacji Kredytowej) was founded in 1997 by the Polish Bank Association. It maintains the central registry of credit obligations — active and repaid — across all Polish banks and licensed lenders registered with KNF. Every lender is legally required to report every loan to BIK and to query the registry before issuing credit. BIK also calculates a numerical score (0–100) that drives loan approval and pricing. Consumers are entitled to one free full BIK report every 6 months. Negative entries (late payments, recovery) remain visible for 5 years after case closure. Positive entries remain as long as the consumer consents — keeping them is recommended as they build scoring.
Concrete numeric example
BIK score 85/100 → cash loan of 50,000 PLN at RRSO ~9.8% (premium tier). BIK score 45/100 → same loan at RRSO ~14.5% or outright refusal. Difference in cost over 5 years: roughly 6,500 PLN.