The ‘next normal’: Nordic fintechs and the surge in demand for digital services

COVID-19 restrictions across the world are relaxing and everyone is adapting themselves to the new normal. At this point in time, the travel startups are definitely going through a rough patch and their business has taken a halt. But not all industries are facing the same level of impact as fintech is progressing and getting an all-new dimension during the pandemic crisis.

Surge in Nordics fintechs

The traditional businesses in the financial world are undoubtedly facing a tough time with a drastic plunge in customer engagement. Eventually, digital banking experts are discussing how to build digital engagement strategies that will hold good for the future and explore the digital channels that could bring about disruption. By taking the digital route, fintech companies will be able to maximise customer communication and ensure provide a personalised experience in a digital-only environment.

Given that COVID-19 pandemic is a turning point for fintechs in Europe, customer-focused startups have made announcements that will help them serve customers during the crisis. Here are some of the future-proof fintech startups in the Nordics that have come up with interesting announcements right on time during the pandemic.

indó teams up with Enfuce

Iceland’s first-ever challenger bank indó has chosen Enfuce, the biggest fintech startup in Finland as its partner for open banking, payments, and sustainable services. This collaboration is likely to let indó introduce its first new bank in Iceland in decades with the help of Enfuce’s expertise. The Reykjavik-based startup will leverage Enfuce’s offering to efficiently develop secure, socially conscious banking services.

Founded by Denise Johansson and Monika Liikamaa in 2016, Enfuce’s payments platform will let the Icelandic startup monitor card payments and seamlessly control in-app features. Its banking solution will let indó build smarter money management services using PSD2-compliant access point to Europe’s financial data.

Danske enables payments with open banking platform

The open banking platform Nordic API Gateway has announced the extension of its partnership with Copenhagen-based leading bank Danske Bank. This partnership will let customers use the Dankse Bank’s mobile banking app to pay from other banks. This new payments service is believed to be launched in August 2020 in Denmark. With this move, Danske Bank will be able to take its open banking strategy to the next level.

Danske Bank is a Danish bank, founded in 1871 as Den Danske Landmandsbank. It provides services in the fields of banking, mortgage finance, insurance, pension, real-estate brokerage, etc. And, Nordic API Gateway is a pioneering aggregator of financial data in Northern Europe that enables access to financial data and account-to-account payments, so its customers can offer better solutions to theirs.

Northmill launches its first fixed-rate savings account

Northmill, a Swedish tech-bank works with the vision to improve everyone’s financial life. The fintech provides the necessary tools for people to make better financial choices. In a recent move, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Swedish tech bank has introduced its first fixed-rate savings account to strengthen its savings offering. With this savings account, users get an annual interest rate of 1.15% for a fixed period of 12 months. Previously, Northmill launched a savings account with a variable interest rate.

Founded in Stockholm in 2006 by George Kurt and Hikmet Ego, Northmill has introduced a large number of new products and features in recent months including the savings account Rebilla Reserve and the Rebilla Card. And, its products and services have witnessed a huge demand, which makes it focus on the development of the same.

Tink extends open banking support

The Stockholm-based open banking platform Tink secured €90 million in funding earlier this year. Last month, the company secured investment from PayPal and is extending support for the payment system of the latter in Europe. Under this deal, PayPal will employ the open banking and account aggregation technology of Tink to enable new user experiences for its users.

Recently, Tink announced a strategic channel partnership with Sopra Banking Software (SBS), which is a global leader in digital banking and financing software. This partnership will enable SBS’s customers to harness the full value chain of open banking beyond PSD2 compliance. And, Sopra Banking Platform will be able to offer new value and turn-key cloud-native digital banking solutions with the integration of Tink’s technologies.

Tink founded by Daniel Kjellén and Fredrik Hedberg in 2012 is an open banking platform, which lets banks, startups, and fintechs to develop data-driven financial services. During the COVID-19 crisis, Tink ensures to focus on the good health of its employees and customers despite the challenges.

Main image picture credits: Danske Bank