Idea Bank, Poland’s most innovative bank, well known for its extravagant ideas, such as the mobile ATMs or the banking coworking spaces Idea Hub, has launched a new unprecedented project. Selected Poland’s PKP Intercity trains will feature the Idea Hub Express carriage, the first bank branch on tracks and the first coworking space for travelers. 

The first mobile coworking space will facilitate work for passengers traveling on the Warsaw-Poznan-Warsaw, Warsaw-Krakow-Warsaw and Warsaw-Wrocław-Warsaw routes. Selected PKP Intercity trains linking the cities will have a special Idea Hub Express car attached. The car, which has been adopted for office work, features a table, comfortable chairs and a screen for presentations. Travelers can also use the available office equipment (such as printers and scanners), phone chargers along with any required connections, as well as coffee makers, and read a selection of the latest newspapers delivered every day.

Idea Bank’s executive Malgorzata Szturmowicz commented:

“Travel is an integral part of one’s business. Business people meet their customers and partners or research new markets. Small businesses grow with time, establishing branches in new locations. We always strive to be where the business is, as of now we will accompany business people when they travel. Thanks to our cooperation with PKP Intercity, we have been able to create the first ever mobile office, the Idea Hub Express, enabling passengers to better use their time while in transit.”

The car is open to all passengers holding a valid ticket, but Idea Bank customers will have priority in taking the available seats. The Bank hopes for the Idea Hub Express to become an opportunity for gaining new customers, which will be accomplished by offering the opportunity to travel free of charge with vouchers distributed from regular Idea Hub branches in Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, and Wroclaw.

A poll conducted by Idea Bank has shown that over 61% of small businesses have crossed the boundaries of their home voivodeships. The majority of business owners, 82% to be precise, have declared that travel is an integral part of running their companies. As many as 57% of business people whose scope covers more than a single voivodeship spend over 10 hours weekly traveling. Business travel is a significant time burden. Every fifth businessperson participating in the poll says they spend over 30 hours weekly traveling. Considering the Central Statistical Office data concerning the average time spent working by business owners (42.3h), each week a small business owner spends on average 2 days traveling. While traveling, they mostly work on their laptops and talk on the phone. The poll was conducted on 4-7 April on a sample of 328 sole traders, and was conducted using the CATI method.

PKP Intercity’s spokesperson Marta Ziemska commented:

“The train is a great means of transport for business travelers. It ensures fast transit between the largest cities, e.g. travel from Warsaw to Krakow takes just over two hours, so people can take care of their business within a single day. It is also a pleasant place to work in.We have developed a dedicated offering for businesspeople who travel frequently – special Color Cards which enable people to travel without limitations on all our trains and the trains of other carriers.”

Travelers using the Idea Hub Express will be taken care of by Idea Bank’s top staff. “The Idea Hub Express is not only the first mobile office, but also the first bank branch on tracks. This project is one of a kind in the world and a showpiece of Idea Bank,” underscores MałgorzataSzturmowicz. The project is scheduled for 3 months.

Idea Bank currently has 8 stationary Idea Hub branches in Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Wroclaw, Katowice and Poznan. Last summer, the so-called Summer Hub was also open for customers, located on the bank of the Vistula River in Warsaw. The Idea Hubs are not only places designed for work, but also spaces enabling entrepreneurs to meet, hold business workshops, presentations, or even summer movie screenings. These innovative bank branches have their own Facebook profile, followed by almost 20,000 fans.

Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE:IDA), Idea Bank supports Poland’s dynamic entrepreneurial culture by offering its clients a 360-degree assistance on all stages of business development: from the registration of a new company with the authorities, to bookkeeping, and financial advisory in the first phases of growth.

Idea Bank started its Idea Hub project in early 2015, with almost 30,000 visitors having stepped into these bank business centers. The project received accolades in many prestigious competitions in Poland and abroad, such as the Edison Awards, Stevie Awards, and Efma Accenture Distribution & Marketing Innovation Awards.