Kredyt na powitanie

Erste Bank Polska “Welcome Loan” (Kredyt na powitanie) — Review

“Kredyt na powitanie” (“Welcome Loan”) is an Erste Bank Polska offer classified in our system as a consolidation loan — a product aimed primarily at people who want to combine several existing liabilities (for example a few credit cards, an overdraft, or earlier cash loans) into one monthly instalment. The name itself suggests the bank targets it especially at new customers, though the data we have does not contain a clause restricting eligibility only to people opening their first account with Erste Bank Polska — treat this as marketing framing rather than a formal eligibility condition.

The loan is available across a fairly wide amount range: from PLN 500 to PLN 50,000, with a term of 25 to 120 months (roughly 2 to 10 years). That is a flexible range, suitable both for smaller one-off cash needs and for consolidating several larger liabilities into one instalment.

Interest Rate and APR

Erste Bank Polska advertises the “Welcome Loan” with a fixed nominal interest rate of 8.99% per year. That means the interest portion of your instalment will not change over the life of the agreement, regardless of what happens to NBP (Polish central bank) rates — a real advantage compared with variable-rate loans, since it lets you plan your household budget for the whole repayment period.

The Annual Percentage Rate (APR/RRSO) — the figure that already includes all costs of the loan, not just interest — is 15.51% for this product. This is the number worth comparing against other lenders’ APR when weighing the real cost of a loan, rather than the nominal rate alone, since APR is always equal to or higher than the nominal rate and reflects the true, all-in annual cost of the borrowed money.

Worth flagging here is a discrepancy in the source data: the bank’s statutory representative example (see below) states an APR of 9.37% for one specific lending scenario — a different figure from the APR declared generally for this product (15.51%). Such discrepancies between different fields in a bank’s offer data do happen. For comparing this offer against others we use the higher, more conservative figure of 15.51%, so as not to understate the potential cost of the loan — but we recommend always verifying the final APR in the individual offer the bank prepares for your specific amount and term.

The loan is repaid in equal instalments (annuity-style) — throughout the repayment period you pay (except for the last, adjusting instalment) exactly the same amount each month, with only the split between principal and interest shifting over time. That is easier to budget for than a declining-instalment schedule, where the first payments are noticeably higher than later ones.

What You’ll Actually Pay — Total Cost

The bank publishes a statutory representative example showing what repayment looks like in one specific scenario: loan amount (excluding financed costs) of PLN 26,600, a term of 60 months (5 years), 59 equal monthly instalments of PLN 552.57 each, and a final (60th), adjusting instalment of PLN 524.03. The total cost of the loan in this example is PLN 6,525.66, made up entirely of interest (PLN 6,525.66) — the bank does not charge a commission for granting this loan (PLN 0). The total amount to be repaid to the bank in this scenario is PLN 33,125.66. The calculation was prepared by the bank as of 16 March 2026.

No commission is a genuine advantage of this loan — many cash and consolidation loan offers charge a commission calculated as a percentage of the loan amount, added to the instalment or deducted upfront, which meaningfully raises the APR. In this offer, per the published example, the entire cost of the loan is interest only.

Keep in mind that the calculation above is representative — it applies to a specific amount and term, under the assumptions the bank used when preparing the example. Your actual instalment, APR, and total cost will depend on the amount you want to borrow, your chosen repayment term, and your individual creditworthiness assessment — don’t treat the figures above as a guarantee of identical terms for every applicant.

Requirements and Conditions

The loan can be taken out in amounts from PLN 500 to PLN 50,000, over a term of 25 to 120 months — a fairly wide range covering both smaller cash needs and more substantial consolidation of several liabilities. The minimum applicant age is 18; our data does not show an upper age limit for this product.

Our data does not include information on whether the bank requires insurance for this product, spousal consent for taking on the liability, or whether there is an amount threshold below which these formalities are waived — the corresponding fields in the source data are empty, which means the information is missing, not that these requirements don’t exist. Likewise, we have no confirmation from an official source on whether the bank checks the applicant’s credit history (BIK). Before applying, it’s worth asking an Erste Bank Polska advisor for the full list of required documents and formalities — these can vary depending on the amount and term.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Fixed 8.99% interest rate for the entire repayment period — the interest portion doesn’t move with NBP rates
• No commission for granting the loan (PLN 0, confirmed in the offer data)
• Equal instalments — easier household budget planning
• Wide amount range: from PLN 500 to PLN 50,000
• Long maximum term — up to 120 months (10 years)
• Low minimum age (18), no upper limit in the data

Cons

• 15.51% APR is noticeably higher than the nominal rate alone — the real cost of the loan is higher than the 8.99% headline rate suggests
• Discrepancy between the product’s declared APR and the APR in the bank’s representative example — worth verifying the final figure in your individual offer
• No data on required insurance, spousal consent, or credit-bureau (BIK) checks — you’ll need to ask the bank directly
• The bank’s representative example covers only one scenario (PLN 26,600 / 60 months) — your actual terms may differ

Summary

Erste Bank Polska’s “Welcome Loan” is a consolidation loan with a fixed 8.99% interest rate and no commission for granting the loan — together these make it a genuinely competitive offer on the market, provided the individual offer you receive actually holds that rate. An APR of 15.51%, however, shows that the total annual cost of the loan is noticeably higher than the nominal rate alone — a figure worth comparing against competing offers’ APRs before deciding, while also keeping in mind the discrepancy we found against the APR in the bank’s own representative example. The flexible amount and term range means the product can work both for smaller cash needs and for consolidating several larger liabilities into one predictable instalment.