Medius Explains: What is P27, and how can Nordic customers become P27 Compliant?

P27 is a new joint-initiative which aims to establish a single pan-Nordic payment infrastructure, led by Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, OP Financial Group, SEB, and Swedbank. The initiative aims to enable seamless cross-border payments in the Nordics to improve payments for both businesses and consumers.

Each bank involved will in time introduce new ISO formats for its Nordic customers, creating a secure and versatile platform that will enable real-time, batch, domestic and cross-border payments to be carried out quickly and at low cost.

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

Anders Fohlin, Group CFO at Medius, said: “Making cross-border payments for businesses should be as easy as sending a text, and that is what P27 is all about. The initiative means enabling real-time payments, irrespective of currency, bank, or country. It will usher in the next generation of innovation in payments, bring down barriers to trade and encourage innovation within the Nordic region.”

“However, for businesses that are not P27 compliant, it could create an admin headache. The accounts payable team will have to tackle payments to invoices and this is often at the bottom of a long to-do list. But this work is absolutely critical with the transition to P27. For companies that aren’t compliant this means they will not be able to make file payments.”

Customers of Medius Pay are automatically compliant. Medius is ready to help Nordic businesses with the transition, and explains how with the following advice for businesses:

Designate an owner

If businesses haven’t already started the process of becoming P27 compliant, they should create a small team tasked with doing so. Too often we’ve seen such initiatives fall between finance, operations and IT, with no one department taking ownership to ensure compliance.

Be aware of fraud

Sadly, whenever there is change, malicious actors are hoping to cash in on any chaos. Businesses need to be extra vigilant when assessing invoices and look for changes that are out of the ordinary (and not just P27 format changes).

Use technology

The latest AP automation software can remove the burden of regulation change by ensuring all invoices are automatically compliant. AI and ML can also be used to spot any irregularities that could be down to fraudsters.

Think ahead

With P27 in place, Nordic businesses have the opportunity to expand operations abroad and offer new services. There will be an early mover advantage for those that are ahead of the curve and the competition.