22nd Jan 2014 09:00
January 22, 2014
Finland's OP-Pohjola Group enters mPOS agreement with Monitise
New three-year mPOS partnership is first of its kind by a Finnish bank
OP-Pohjola Group, Finland's leading banking group, has signed a three-year deal with global Mobile Money specialists Monitise (LSE: MONI) to provide multi-language mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) services for its small business and merchant customers. OP-Pohjola Group is set to be the first Finnish bank to offer an mPOS service.
OP-Pohjola Group comprises around 200 member cooperative banks, OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative and its subsidiaries and closely-related companies. As a group, it is the largest bank in Finland.
The new service to be launched by OP-Pohjola Group and Monitise will enable the bank's small business and merchant customers to take card payments and view recent transactions via mobile. OP-Pohjola Group merchant customers will also be able to generate digital tax credit receipts to reclaim up to half of the value of qualifying invoices as part of a government-backed scheme in Finland*.
The service will be available initially across iOS and Android platforms, and in Finnish, Swedish and English languages.
Commenting on the partnership, Kasimir Hirn, Director of the cards and emerging payments business at OP-Pohjola Group, said: "Following the success of our mobile banking services we are delighted to announce the forthcoming launch of mobile payment capabilities to empower our small business customers to manage their finances more easily on the move, via the bank they are familiar with. We recognise the power of mobile to be an incredibly valuable channel to provide convenient, secure and easily accessible services to make our customers' lives easier. We look forward to working with Monitise to launch innovations in this area."
Monitise President, EMEA, Will Jones added: "OP-Pohjola Group has adopted an extremely proactive and innovative approach to mobile, enabling them to pioneer useful and engaging services for consumers. We're proud to have been appointed as the bank's mPOS partner as we expand our footprint in continental Europe and are looking forward to working with them on the roll-out of the services."
NOTES TO EDITORS
Monitise and OP-Pohjola Group will co-present at the Merchant Payments Ecosystem event on February 18-20 in Berlin: http://www.merchantpaymentsecosystem.com/
To find out more about Monitise mPOS and the wider mPOS industry, visit www.monitise.com/mpos.
\* The Finnish Government scheme, Kotitalousvähennys. More information is available at http://www.vero.fi/fi-FI/Henkiloasiakkaat/Kotitalousvahennys
About OP-Pohjola Group
OP-Pohjola Group is Finland's leading financial services group providing a unique range of banking, investment and insurance services. The Group has the mission of promoting the sustainable prosperity, well-being and security of its owner-members, customers and operating regions through its local presence. Its objective is to offer the best and most versatile package of loyal customer benefits on the market. OP-Pohjola Group consists of some 200 member cooperative banks and the Group's central institution, OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative, with its subsidiaries and closely-related companies, the largest of which is the listed company Pohjola Bank plc. With a staff of 13,000 OP-Pohjola Group posted consolidated earnings of 601 million euros before tax in 2012 and had total assets of 99.8 billion euros on 31 December 2012. The group has over four million customers. www.op.fi
About Monitise
Monitise (LSE: MONI) is a world leader in Mobile Money - banking, paying and buying with a mobile device. Leading banks, payments companies, retailers and mobile networks utilise Monitise's technology platforms and services to securely connect people with their money.
Already 24 million consumers benefit from our patented technology to 'bank anywhere', 'pay anyone' and 'buy anything', accounting for $50bn of payments, purchases and transfers annually. More information is available at www.monitise.com.
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