Buying Financial Services Online in Poland: New EU Withdrawal Rules
Short answer: As of 17 Oct 2026 Poland has only a draft law for the EU distance finance rules. It proposes free explanations, a withdrawal button and up to 12 months and 14 days to withdraw.
If you open a bank product, take out a loan or buy insurance through an app, a website or by phone, you are making a distance contract for financial services. The European Union has rewritten the rules for these contracts, and Poland is still preparing its law to match. This guide explains what the new EU rules say, what the Polish draft proposes, and what to do today. As of 17 October 2026, the Polish changes are a government draft, not law.
What the EU changed
Directive (EU) 2023/2673 amends the EU consumer rights directive to cover financial services sold at a distance, and it repeals the older Directive 2002/65/EC. According to the EUR-Lex summary, member states had to transpose it by 19 December 2025, and its rules should apply from 19 June 2026. The directive covers current or future banking, credit, insurance, pension, investment and payment services bought without the trader and the consumer being physically together.
Where Poland stands
The Polish Ministry of Finance and Economy published a draft amendment to the Act on Consumer Rights and the Act on Consumer Pawn Loans on the government's legislative page on 9 September 2026. The page says the draft implements Directive 2023/2673 and that the planned date for adoption by the Council of Ministers is the first quarter of 2027. So the Polish text is not final, it still has to pass the government, the Sejm and the Senate, and the details can change. The 2002 directive was implemented in the current Act on Consumer Rights, so a withdrawal right for such contracts already exists.
What the draft would change for you
According to the government's description of the draft, the main changes are these:
- Free explanations. Before you sign, the trader would have to give you free-of-charge explanations of the proposed financial contract, including its main features, additional services, the specific effects it may have on you, and, where relevant, the consequences of missing or delaying payments.
- A reminder about withdrawal. If you got the pre-contract information less than one day before you became bound, the trader would have to send you, on a durable medium, a reminder of your right to withdraw and of how to do it.
- Layered information. Traders could present the key information first and put the detailed parts in further layers.
- More time to withdraw in some cases. The standard period stays 14 days, but for distance contracts on individual pensions it would be 30 days.
- A long stop if you were not informed. If you did not receive the required pre-contract information and contract terms, the right to withdraw would last until 12 months and 14 calendar days after the contract was concluded. That period would not expire if you were never told on a durable medium that you can withdraw.
- Fair online design. You would be able to contact a person who represents the trader, and traders could not design web interfaces in a way that disturbs or limits your ability to make a free, independent and informed decision.
- New exceptions. The list of cases with no withdrawal right would grow, for example for contracts that both sides have fully performed at your request before you exercise the right.
* Photos: Typing on a laptop (Unsplash, CC0) and Hand-smartphone-technology-calling (CC0), both Wikimedia Commons, illustrative.
A withdrawal button for every online contract
One change reaches beyond finance. The draft would add a withdrawal function in the online interface, labelled "odstąp od umowy tutaj" (withdraw from the contract here) or something equivalent. The trader would have to tell you that the function exists and where it is. The government says this applies to all kinds of distance contracts, not only financial services, so that you can withdraw as easily as you contracted.
What to do today
Until a Polish law is passed, keep your own paper trail. Save the offer and the terms you saw before you signed. Note the date you signed, because withdrawal periods run from it. If you want to withdraw, send the statement in writing or through the channel the trader gives, and keep proof that you sent it. If a bank or insurer disputes your withdrawal, those records are what you will need for any complaint. This draft does not change who is a consumer: it protects people who buy for private purposes, whatever their nationality, but the government page does not address foreigners separately.
Frequently asked questions
Is the new rule in force in Poland?
Not yet. The EU directive should apply from 19 June 2026, but as of 17 October 2026 the Polish bill is only a draft, with adoption by the Council of Ministers planned for the first quarter of 2027.
How long do I have to withdraw from a financial contract bought online?
The standard period is 14 days. The draft proposes 30 days for individual pension contracts and a longer period of up to 12 months and 14 days if you did not get the required information.
Will every online shop get a withdrawal button?
According to the government's draft, yes: the withdrawal function would cover all distance contracts, not only financial services. It is not law yet, and the final wording may change.
