P27, a new bank-owned project bidding to create a common payments platform across the Nordic region, is weighing a bid for Swedish clearing payment firm Bankgirot.
Backed by Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, OP Financial Group, SEB and Swedbank, P27 has been set the task of connecting the 27 million people in the region for national and cross-border real-time payments in all Nordic currencies.
In order to create the infrastructure, P27 wants to buy Bankgirot, the 60-year-old Swedish player which handles more than six million transactions a day. The acquisition would strengthen operational stability during the envisaged migration from Bankgirot to the new P27 platform, says a statement, and also bring in valuable knowledge of complex payments and compliance issues.
P27 is carrying out due diligence on a takeover and any deal would need approval from regulators and Bankgirot's owners, many of which are the same banks behind P27.
Lars Sjögren, designated CEO, P27, says: "The Nordic region is ahead in both the payments and fintech industry. Exploring the possibility of establishing P27 is a natural next step for the Nordic banking sector, where we aim to combine the tradition of innovation with technical advancement."