21^st June 2018 - OP Financial Group’s Pivo Wallet Oy and Nets are joining forces to pilot mobile payments in Finland. The two companies have signed a letter of intent to make Pivo available for Finnish Nets merchants, both in-store and online. Pivo users will also have access to a new e-receipt functionality within the app.

Following the agreement between Nets and Pivo Wallet Oy, Pivo payments will be available soon at selected bricks-and-mortar shops that use Nets terminals and in online stores at a later date. Today, Pivo is the preferred mobile wallet in Finland. It can be used online, as well as in-store on Android phones. Through the partnership with Nets, in-store payments will be available for all handsets, including Apple devices, using next-generation mobile acceptance technology.

The convenience of contactless payments, regardless of device

Mobile payments in-store are rapidly increasing across the Nordic countries. In Denmark, Nets has already introduced a new acceptance standard for mobile payments using Bluetooth technology. By bringing this standard to Finland, consumers will be able to pay with Pivo on all mobile devices, just by tapping a device on the terminal.

“Paying with your mobile leverages the contactless ‘tap and go’ payment experience that many Finns have already adopted and enjoy while shopping. To ensure the same level of ease when paying in-store with your mobile, we will implement a new payment standard using Bluetooth that will give the same payment experience regardless of handset, which will be very similar to when you make contactless payments with cards”, says Sirpa Nordlund, Country Manager for Nets in Finland.

New benefits will help drive mobile payments in-store

The in-store solution that Pivo and Nets will pilot builds on the familiar contactless card user experience and further enhances it by enabling consumers to tap and confirm payments on their phones. Technology from Nets subsidiary Storebox takes the experience even further by bringing e-receipts to Pivo. The user will have the receipt available on their phone instantly, once the payment is concluded.

“Through our collaboration with Nets and Storebox, we are able to provide a more seamless in-store payment experience for all mobile devices with integrated value-adding features such as e-receipts in Pivo. The enhanced shopping experience we are providing together for our customers will be key for mobile payments to take off in e-commerce and physical stores,” says Masa Peura, Director, New Businesses at OP.

Pivo aims to cover all consumer payment needs for all payment situations, whether it is transferring funds from person to person, or shopping in stores or online. The next phase of the partnership aims to make the online experience for consumers as easy and smooth, enabled by the Pivo application using Netaxept – a service from Nets.

**ENDS**