English lawyer joins DZP in London
David Shasha, an English solicitor with extensive experience in commercial law, M&A and financing, has joined the team at Domański Zakrzewski Palinka (“DZP”). David will be working in London, where he will co-ordinate DZP’s relationships with law firms, financial institutions and companies located in the United Kingdom. He will also support DZP’s lawyers advising international and Polish clients.
We look forward to working with David. Having him as a member of our team will significantly assist in our London marketing initiatives, said Krzysztof Zakrzewski, Managing Partner at DZP.
David Shasha has worked with international law firms for over 30 years. Before joining DZP, he worked at Clifford Chance (where, among other things, he was founder partner of offices in Warsaw, Prague and Budapest), Simmons & Simmons, Gowlings (now Gowling WLG) and Watson Farley & Williams. He has been distinguished in international rankings by both Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 and was named one of the “Hot 100” by The Lawyer 2011. David’s position at DZP will be that of Counsel.
I have known DZP for a number of years, and have been impressed by the progress the firm has made during that time. I look forward to working with DZP in the London market, and helping the firm increase its international business – said David Shasha.
About DZP
Domański Zakrzewski Palinka was established in 1993. For many years now DZP has been the largest independent Polish law firm. DZP has offices in Warsaw, Poznań and Wrocław and specialists who advise clients on all areas of their business.
For more than 15 years now, we have been recommended and highly ranked by publishers of international legal guides, including Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, IFLR1000 and WTR 1000.
For more information about DZP, please visit our website at https://en.dzp.pl/.
Contacts
Krzysztof A. Zakrzewski | Managing Partner
T: +48 22 557 76 84 | E: Krzysztof.Zakrzewski@dzp.pl
David Shasha | Counsel
T: + 44 (0)7435 630495 | E: David.Shasha@dzp.pl
Agnieszka Kamińska | Marketing & PR Director
T: +48 22 557 86 57 | E: Agnieszka.Kaminska@dzp.pl
Good results of Millennium Leasing in 2016. High growths in financing vehicles, machines and devices
In 2016 Millennium Leasing signed real estate leasing contracts worth more than PLN 3bn, which resulted in good 15.2% growth over 2015. The value of capital committed to active leasing contracts as of the end of the year stood at PLN 5.16bn, which means 11.8% year-on-year growth.
In the category of light vehicles the company financed assets worth PLN 823.13m, reaching 32.2% growth y/y in cars and 59.9% growth y/y in trucks up to 3.5 tons.
In the heavy road transport category the value of lease-financed assets was PLN 1.11bn, reaching the highest y/y growths in following groups: trucks (over 3.5 tons) – 40.4% growth; lorries – 13.8% growth and semi-trailers – 10.2% growth. The value of financed machines and equipment reached the level of more than PLN 1bn, which means 21.3% growth y/y.
– We are glad that our work on improving processes, the time-to-decision as well as the quality of service broadly understood is appreciated by companies. We were able to acquire more than 4,700 new customers, while growth rates in particularly demanding categories, such as cars and trucks up to 3.5 tons, shows that the effects of our consistent work allow us to be quite successful. Our activity in the corporate segment as well as close cooperation with Bank Millennium have also permitted us in 2016 to exceed one billion PLN worth of machines and equipment, which we financed for our customers – Marcin Balicki, Chairman of the Management Board of Millennium Leasing commented.
Millennium Leasing has for years been offering lease financing to all sectors in Poland. The company is an active member of Polish Leasing Association and one of the first leasing companies to appear on the Polish market. Leasing services are sold by leasing advisors in 66 branches throughout Poland. Sales activity is also carried out in the course of active cooperation with the Bank’s Relationship Managers in retail and corporate branches of Bank Millennium.
Standard Audit File in Millenet for Companies
In reply to growing interest of Customers, Bank Millennium has enabled automatic generation of JPK_WB reports in the format required by the Ministry of Finance. The new service in Millenet online banking makes life much easier for businesses required to furnish files in this specific format to tax inspection authorities.
– Ordering and receiving JPK_WB reports directly in electronic banking saves companies time and money. Thanks to automation of the process they can count on reduction of the duration of tax inspections carried out in their organisations as well as less involvement of their staff in the proceedings. Additionally the possibility to generate JPK (SAF) improves efficiency of control over internal processes in a company and facilitates data analysis. Also important is the fact that the bank will update the structure of reports in case of changes made by the Ministry of Finance. – Ricardo Campos, Director of the Electronic Banking Department in Bank Millennium explained.
What is SAF?
A Standard Audit File-Tax – SAF-T) is a set of data exported from a company’s data systems. It contains information about business transactions in the particular period. The file has a standardised layout and format (XML schema) to facilitate processing. SAF is an instrument successfully used in many EU countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
In Poland the requirement to generate SAF files was introduced by the Ministry of Finance on 1 July 2016. For now it applies to companies employing more than 250 employees and with turnover exceeding EUR 50m or with total assets over EUR 43m. In the future it will also become obligatory for smaller businesses.
SAF in Millenet online banking system
SAF reports concerning bank statements can be used both as basic reports – ready to be furnished to tax inspectors, as well as auxiliary reports – permitting verification of data extracted from the company’s systems. A customer requesting the report will only define its key parameters such as period covered, Tax Office, to which the report is to be sent as well as additional persons who are to receive it (the listed persons will get a message with a link for downloading the report). The generated report can reach back as far as 6 years and what is important, it can contain information about all accounts maintained during this period, even if they are already closed at the time of requesting the report. The new service shall be launched in reply to the Customer’s written request.
SAF advantages
– reduction of costs of implementing dedicated tools for generating reports in SAF format
– data for JPK_WB reports are always up to date and available 6 years back
– updating JPK_WB structure by Bank Millennium without the need to interfere with the customer’s systems in case of changes made by the Ministry of Finance
Online sending of documents required in the credit process
Another innovation in the Millenet for Companies online banking system is a module permitting enclosing and sending of documents required in the credit process. In this way entrepreneurs do not have to deliver paper documents personally to a branch or Relationship Manager. It is enough if they scan them, attach and send to the bank. Documents sent in this way reach the Credit Products Service Team in real time to significantly speed-up and simplify the entire process.
The “Documents and Applications -> Add Document” module supports all the most popular file formats, such as tiff, jpg, pdf, docx, xlsx etc. A single batch can contain 10 individual files up to 10 MB. It is planned to develop the service further and to enable sending of documents also for other types of products.
Trusted Profile in Bank Millennium
Bank Millennium’s online banking system can be used to create a Trusted Profile, which gives online access to 7/24 public administration services. Because the customer’s identity is confirmed by the bank, it is not necessary to go to a government office to set up the profile. Customers will logon using the same data as when logging on to Millenet and will authorise their instructions on e-administration websites by logging on to the bank and entering SMS P@ssword.
– After the October launch of ZUS Electronic Services Platform via Millenet, implementation of the same method of access to Trusted Profile is another step supporting the development of digital public administration in Poland. We are one of the first banks to offer this possibility. Thanks to the Trusted Profile our customers get secure and very convenient access to more than ten public administration websites. All this in the comfort of your home, simply by logging on to the Bank Millennium online system – Ricardo Campos, Director of the Electronic Banking Department in Bank Millennium said.
Trusted Profile is a free-of-charge electronic signature, which permits handling official business on public administration websites including ePUAP, PUE ZUS, CEIDG etc. The Trusted Profile may be used to:
– register a business,
– submit tax returns, requests and sign documents online,
– report loss or mutilation of a Personal Identity Card,
– obtain copies of vital records (marriage, birth and death certificates),
– apply for European Health Insurance Card,
– apply for a new driving license,
And get many other services provided by e-administration.
The process of setting up the Profile is very simple. You log on to the Millenet online banking system and select Trusted Profile from the My Finances – MilleUrząd menu. Then you give the necessary approvals and check if data in the form are correct (name, surname, PESEL number). The only information, which you must enter manually in the system, is phone number and e-mail address. Finally you will approve setting up the profile with SMS P@ssword. After approval the Trusted Profile will be active and you will be able to logon to e-administration.
Trusted Profile is valid for 3 years. A person may have only one active Trusted Profile, which in practice means that it can be linked to an online banking system of one bank only.
City transport tickets and parking fees in Bank Millennium’s mobile app
Bank Millennium via its mobile app has introduced the possibility to purchase city transport tickets and pay parking fees. City transport passengers can now buy a ticket conveniently, validate it and show it in their phone to a ticket inspector. Meanwhile car drivers will use their phone to pay for actual parking time, without the need to pay up front, as in a parking meter.
Using the service is very simple. The user may logon to the app and select the menu option Tickets and parking meters. To buy a city transport ticket it is necessary to select the city, the carrier and type of ticket, validate the ticket in the app and e.g. set it up as a widget before logon, which allows its easy demonstration when tickets are being checked in the vehicle, without the need to have internet access
In case of parking fees it is enough to give the car registration number, select the city, zone and duration of parking and leave a moBILET vignette, available free of charge in the Paid Parking Zone Bureau or a sheet of paper with the word “moBILET” behind the windscreen. The user may select a “no time limit” option and finish parking at any time, or the “defined time” parking option, which also allows the parking time to be extended or shortened. In either case the customer will only pay for actual parking time. Parking fees shall be drawn automatically from a defined account in Bank Millennium.
The new service is offered in cooperation with Mobile Traffic DATA (moBILET), who were the first in Poland to launch the service of charging for actual parking time in paid parking zones and buying city transport tickets by phone.
Customers of Bank Millennium can already pay contactless with their phones
Bank Millennium has launched a service, which permits paying with a smartphone as with a contactless card. The service uses HCE technology and allows a virtual card to be created in the bank’s mobile app. Thanks to this customers can make payments quickly and conveniently without the need to carry cash or a plastic card.
– Contactless payments with a smartphone remain a novelty, however gaining in popularity among customers. This extremely simple and intuitive solution allows a smartphone to be used just as a plastic contactless card. Contactless payments in Poland are already supported by approx. 90% terminals. Moreover Poland is among the world leaders in terms of speed of adoption of new technologies by consumers. This leads us to believe that contactless payments with a phone will have an enthusiastic reception on part of our customers – Ricardo Campos, Director of the Electronic Banking Department in Bank Millennium commented.
Customers who create a Mobile Mastercard card in the Bank Millennium app will be able to use their phone to pay wherever Mastercard contactless payments are accepted, i.e. in any of the 6 million terminals worldwide. The phone just needs to be unblocked and brought to the terminal, the same as with a traditional contactless card. In case of transactions over PLN 50 it is necessary to key-in the PIN number in the terminal. Activation of the virtual card and use of the service are free of charge. The card shall remain valid for 4 years.
HCE (Host Card Emulation) payments require a phone with one of the most popular operating systems i.e. Android 4.4 (or later versions) with an NFC aerial and the Bank Millennium mobile app. What is important is that an internet connection is not necessary at the time of payment because 10 consecutive payment can be made offline (at the next internet connection the series of 10 payments will be reset). The service is provided in cooperation with Mastercard.
– Mastercard research shows that younger consumers find it more difficult today to make do without a phone, than without a wallet. This trend will continue and plastic cards will increasingly often be replaced with their digital smartphone-related counterparts. Such Mastercard technologies as data encryption, cloud computing-based payments or tokenisation permit making a step towards innovative payments with observance of highest standards of security. Now this, coupled with the open mind the Poles have for innovative technologies as well as an excellently developed infrastructure will result in contactless mobile payments rapidly gaining in popularity in Poland – Bartosz Ciołkowski, Country Manager Poland in Mastercard Europe said.
What makes HCE special among technologies, which permit mobile payments, is that it is independent of telecom service providers. A contract with a network operator is not required because the data needed for a transaction are not specific to the SIM card in the phone, but are stored in a cloud, which is provided by Mastercard’s tokenisation platform (MDES). Data generated for a transaction do not identify the owner of the virtual card and are linked directly with the token i.e. the number assigned to a specific device. This means that payments may be made only with the phone, to which the card was assigned, thus additionally improving security of the transaction.