The Finnish ePassi, which specialises in mobile payments, will start its expansion in Europe this summer. In Finland, ePassi has enabled Chinese tourists to pay with Alipay in Finnish stores. Now, the company will introduce the payment method in the other Nordic and Baltic countries as well.
ePassi has received a new payment institution authorisation that enables the company to bring its mobile payment services to all of Europe. ePassi’s payment services will be offered first in Sweden, Norway, Estonia and Iceland. The expansion will be carried out with both in-house personnel and local partners.
”Finland is the forerunner of mobile payments in Europe. China, however, plays in an entirely different league. Alipay is the most popular mobile payment method in China. With ePassi offering Alipay to merchants, Chinese tourists can pay with the familiar Alipay app also in Europe. Already in Finland, we have seen how offering Alipay significantly increases their purchases, so I believe merchants in ePassi’s new target countries will be interested in this possibility”, Risto Virkkala, CEO at ePassi explains.
The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority grants payment institution authorisations in Finland. As the new PSD2 took effect, ePassi was one of the first ones in Finland to receive this authorisation. The authorisation was granted to a subsidiary fully owned by ePassi: ePassi Clearing Oy.
“The Fintech markets are changing rapidly due to the new Payment Services Directive, PSD2, which forces banks to open up their interfaces. Even though it is likely that the utilisation of the interfaces will only start in a year or two, we at ePassi considered it important to be among the first ones to embrace this change. This way, we get to develop the market as a pioneer. Now, ePassi is one of the first companies offering payment services starting with mobile payments, but we are also ready for a broader PSD2 era and the possibilities it offers”, Virkkala concludes.
For more information:
Risto Virkkala, CEO at ePassi, +358 40 501 8434, [email protected]
Alexander Yin, CFO at ePassi, +358 45 324 3268, [email protected]
ePassi Payments Oy was founded in 2007. It is a part of the Finnish Tech Consulting Group TCG Oy. ePassi was the first mobile payment system for employee benefits and has since expanded into a general mobile payment service. ePassi is used by tens of thousands of service providers in Finland and Sweden in sectors such as public transport, aviation, commerce, restaurants, sports, culture, well-being and events.
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