Case: Suomi.fi e-Authorizations enabled OP to develop real-time services for corporate clients 

OP introduced Suomi.fi e-Authorizations as the first financial sector actor, which made it possible to build better services for corporate clients. OP's corporate clients can now introduce new API solutions, and additionally, the management and processing of financial statements is completely electronic. For customers, the implementation of the e-Authorizations service has increased smoothness and ease of use.

OP is the first Finnish bank that has introduced Suomi.fi e-Authorizations and has been able to use it to create services for its corporate clients. Offering these services in real-time and electronically was not possible before. 

In practice, the e-Authorizations service provides an opportunity to act on behalf of a company. The verification service for acting on behalf of a company provides up-to-date information on a person's right to sign and to represent the company. 

Smooth agreement on banking services

With OP, the e-Authorizations have mainly been used to build two significant services: the introduction of payment transaction API solutions and the electronic ordering and management of financial statement material. 

Suomi.fi e-Authorizations played a crucial role in building a service that facilitates the online purchase and administration of new banking services. With the help of OP's API solutions, its client companies can build a real-time connection to the bank using the payment traffic interfaces.

“In the past, the introduction of new additional services online was a bit difficult for companies. The authorisations were carried out in paper form, in which case the rigidity of operations was not suited for online environment, for example,” says Antti Karhu, Tribe Lead of Payment Services at OP.

Another important project has been the electronic ordering of financial statements material, such as the company's accounts and loan balance certificates as well as information on securities, investments and leasing liabilities. 

“In the past, the work related to financial statements has been a manual process for both our customers and us. Now we can handle all the information related to the financial statements electronically,” says Karhu.

Streamlined service independent of time and place

Electronic verification of right to sign and mandates with the help of Suomi.fi e-Authorizations has brought smooth transactions to OP’s clients regardless of time and place, which is reflected in better customer satisfaction. With API solutions, the bank is open every day, 24 hours a day. 

“We have received a lot of positive feedback from our customers, and many have even been positively surprised at how fast and easy the API solutions were to be implemented,” rejoices Karhu.

In cases where the person with the right to sign for a corporate client has authorised another person to manage the company's affairs, the authorisation to use the services will also make future use easier, as the authorisation does not need to be renewed for each transaction.

The new services are also excellent in responding to the challenges of the pandemic, as paper authorisation documents do not need to be submitted, and the need for physical services is reduced at the same time.

Genuine cooperation is praised

OP praises the cooperation with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. As the first bank to implement the e-Authorizations, OP feels that it has received a well-thought-out service that is suitable for many different purposes. 

“We have been happy about how the service has been developed. We and our development needs have been listened to with sensitivity and the service has been improved. Of course, the service development work carried out because of the cooperation will benefit the society at large even more,” says Karhu.

OP feels that the strength of Suomi.fi e-Authorizations is its ever-increasing adoption in different areas of society. The benefits increase as the network expands.

“We recommend the service to all companies and organisations that would like to develop services for companies but are agonising with how to manage online transactions on behalf of a company,” Karhu summarises.