Hitachi Europe Ltd and ITCARD S.A. have formalised a multi-year collaboration, announcing a strategic partnership targeting the Central and Eastern European market. The move goes beyond the standard supplier-customer relationship, targeting two key areas of financial infrastructure: advanced cyber security and the modernisation of physical cash handling. For both entities, it is a logical business move, combining the global technology background of the Japanese giant with ITCARD’s dominant position as a payment operator in Poland.
The first pillar of the new strategy is digital security, which is a direct response to increasing regulatory pressure, including the requirements of the NIS2 directive. In September 2025, the companies entered into a Security Operations Centre-as-a-Service agreement. Under it, ITCARD gained access to 24/7 monitoring and threat analytics, leveraging the potential of the Krakow SOC centre, which opened in December 2024. This facility, launched by Hitachi Cyber and GlobalLogic, thus becomes a key operational hub for services to the banking sector in the region, ensuring compliance with stringent data protection standards.
In parallel, the partnership is set to revolutionise cash handling. ITCARD, which manages a network of more than 8,000 Planet Cash ATMs, is opening up a wide distribution channel for Hitachi’s new generation of CRM (Cash Recycler Machine) machines. Hitachi, which has a strong position in Asia with a base of more than 200,000 machines, is using the Polish market as a bridgehead for expansion in Europe. The joint offering is intended not only to reach commercial and cooperative banks, but also to support cash availability in smaller towns and cities in Poland and Ukraine, as part of wider financial inclusion programmes.
Complementing the hardware cooperation is an engineering and analytical layer. The agreement involves the implementation of Hitachi’s disk array and compliance solutions, as well as the use of the Pentaho platform for data integration. An important piece of the jigsaw is the involvement of GlobalLogic, a Hitachi group company, which suggests that ITCARD intends to base its technological development more on external engineering know-how, building a competitive advantage based on global R&D standards.
