OP, Nordea establish joint venture to make payment easier

OP and Nordea banks are establishing a joint venture to create Finnish solutions for payment challenges, said OP in a press release on Wednesday.

The two banks aim to develop phone number-based payment and e-invoice management solutions for consumers and companies. The solution will be open to other market actors.

The joint venture will enable easier sending and receiving of e-invoices, and consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-business online payments, using just telephone numbers. The goal is to make payment simpler via banks’ own channels.

“Through the joint venture, we will prepare for the oncoming payment transition in Finland, providing better services for merchants on a faster schedule. Merchants will be able to send customers e-invoices on the basis of a phone number. For the financial sector, this project is a natural development step which has already been taken in other Nordic countries,” said Jani Eloranta (Head of Personal Banking Finland) of Nordea.

“Finland needs more home-grown payment development solutions. We hope that as many market actors as possible join our network to help us develop operating models and services. We aim to provide companies with even better account-based services and to create a smoother consumer experience,” said Masa Peura, Senior Vice-President Everyday Banking of OP Financial Group.

OP and Nordea co-own Siirto Brand Oy on an equal basis. They now plan to transfer the Siirto app’s merchant services to Siirto Brand and expand the company’s activities.

The venture will improve solutions offered to companies and merchants.

At the first stage, services will be built around a shared payee register, after which other account-based payment solutions will be developed on a broader basis.

The aim is for the company to start operating in 2024. Until then, clients can continue using the Siirto service as before.

Realisation of the venture must await the approval of the competition authorities.