11-02-2025 15:35

Nordea’s and OP’s joint venture approved by the Finnish competition authority

The joint venture aims to combine domestic efforts to solve challenges in the Finnish payment space, enabling banks and other market operators to provide phone number-based payment solutions to consumers in their banking apps. The joint venture will also provide services to merchants and businesses.

Friends sending money to each other using smart phones

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority has now approved the planned expansion of Siirto Brand Oy’s operations, which Nordea and OP own with equal shares. The company will make sending and receiving e-invoices easier as well as enable consumer-to-consumer payments and online payments using a phone number.

Next, the acquisition will be completed, after which the company will begin operations.

“We are excited to be able to move forward with the company and to begin operations later this year. It’s also now time to invite all market operators to join this common network. We think that it’s very important to work together towards developing domestic solutions that will make payments smoother,” says Jani Eloranta, Head of Personal Banking Finland at Nordea.

“We are naturally very pleased with the authority’s approval. Finnish society needs more domestic cross-sector solutions to further improve payments, and that’s where our joint venture comes in,” says Masa Peura, Senior Vice President of Everyday Banking at OP.

For further information, see our press release from December 2023: Nordea and OP form a joint venture to enhance payment services in Finland

Digital banking