Smart Without Card – The New Mobile Wallet

How many coins do you currently have in your wallet? When was the last time you paid for something in cash? If you’re living in Finland, chances are you really have to think hard about these questions.

More than 90% of the population regularly use other forms of payment, for example, card or online banking. Why carry around a wallet full of stuff if all you need is your phone?

Overall, the Nordics are leading in non-cash payments in Europe and the trend is indicating a growing importance of mobile payment.

Not surprisingly, OP Group (Finland’s largest service provider in the financial area) has their own mobile payment service, Pivo.

Starting off as an online wallet, originally designed to make keeping track of expenses fun and simple, hassle-free money transfers to friends, quick payments etc., Pivo quickly developed into an easily accessible mobile payment service with an extensive functionality for everyday life. It has been praised for it’s clean and visually pleasing design and of course the great usability.

Since the launch in 2012, Pivo grew to become the most popular online wallet in Finland. Today it counts about 1,2 million downloads and more than 800.000 registered users.

Now in 2018, Pivo is going to through a transformation from mobile wallet/payment app into a fully grown service platform. Keeping the old functions, but adding a whole bunch of services and cooperations with partners to create a better and more complete user experience.

The idea is to combine banking services and direct payments and add merchant benefits on top of that.

For a start, the service announced cooperations with Kotipizza, TaksiHelsinki, TableOnline.fi, CityShoppari, and the IQ Payments’ ticketing service for public transport and events.

Besides being able to pay for their services through the app, Pivo users can profit from additional services and special customer benefits and exclusive offers.

That means you can you can pay for the bus ticket to the pre-booked table in your favorite restaurant or call a taxi that brings you safely back home from that event or stay at home and order a pizza with the help of only one app. All that while easily keeping track of your expenses without having to save every receipt.

And to complete the innovation package, OP came up with a novelty on the Finnish online payment market: Pivo users will be able to apply for Pivo credit when purchasing goods and services, a completely new service within a mobile wallet in Finland.

Customers of all banks can apply for the credit. The decision is given immediately, with a maximum credit limit of 1,000€ and an interest-free payment period of 30 days.

Also, more online payments will be supported, starting this autumn. Namely, Checkout Finland, Maksuturva, Bambora, Nets’ Netaxep and Verifone’s BlueCommerce services will join in.

Besides that, Pivo intends to also integrate in-store payment options that will enable merchants to accept Pivo payments in their shops by the end of 2018, making it a one-for-all payment service, online and offline.

No more worrying about forgetting your wallet at home, it’s all on your phone now.
And if you miss the sound of jingling coins, surely there is a ringtone for that.