Purpose and vision of the P27

P27 aims to build the world’s first real-time, cross-border payment system in multiple currencies. P27 is a joint initiative by Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, OP Financial Group, SEB and Swedbank, exploring the possibility of establishing a pan-Nordic payment infrastructure for domestic and cross-border payments in the Nordic currencies and the Euro.

Efficient means of payments are crucial for the integration of financial services as well as the economy as a whole.

P27 aims to break down barriers for trade and financial interaction between the Nordic countries by making payments more efficient, including cross-border.

By developing common Nordic standards for payments, and improving the customer experience when carrying out cross-border payments in the Nordic region, the realisation of the P27 will provide tangible benefits for the Nordic societies.

Hence, the vision of P27 is to establish, within the Nordics, the first integrated region for domestic and cross-border payments in multiple currencies. Secondly, by aligning its standards with those of SEPA[1] and applying to payments in the eurozone, P27 will bring further harmonisation to the European payments landscape.

An open-access, common infrastructure will deliver a state-of-the-art payment experience to customers across the Nordics, and provide the foundation for future developments.

P27 will enable real-time, batch, domestic and cross-border payments to be carried out quickly and at low cost on a secure and versatile platform. The platform will initially allow payments to flow instantly between people and businesses within the countries of Denmark, Finland and Sweden, something that will benefit growth and development in the region. The platform will be designed to be expandable to allow for payments across the rest of the Nordics as well, which will contribute to the strengthening of the Nordic payment’s ecosystem.

Background

The P27 initiative started in 2017 as a joint Nordic bank project. In May 2019, an interim company was established. In June 2019, an agreement was signed with Mastercard to operate the payments platform. The aim for the initiative is to create one common state of the art payment platform for the Nordic countries. Over the summer in 2021, the European Commission notified P27 that the company had secured approval for its planned merger with legacy Swedish payments provider Bankgirot. The next step for P27 is to obtain the necessary clearing license and as well as continuing to develop the clearing platform together with Mastercard.

The P27 name derives from the company’s aim to improve payments for the 27 million inhabitants in the Nordics.

Participation requirements

Institutions that wish to participate in P27 Nordic Payment’s clearing and settlement service must apply for participation. The applicant institution must fulfil all participation requirements both at entry and throughout potential participation.

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