Helsinki launches initiative to boost electronic public service payments

The public authority for Finland’s capital city, Helsinki, has launched an initiative to encourage elderly residents to pay bills electronically.

The City of Helsinki has teamed up with lobby group Finance Finland (FFI) to launch the pilot project, which kicks off this month. The initiative is scheduled to run for six months, and is targeted at residents aged over 65 who receive invoices from Helsinki social care and health care services. The project aims both to find digital solutions that facilitate seniors’ bill payment, and to boost the efficiency of the city’s financial management. Citizens are to be encouraged and supported to use e-invoicing systems and direct debits to pay care bills, with the project focusing on those who already use online banking services.

Helsinki has offered e-invoicing since 2007, but consumers have been slow to switch from paper invoicing. In 2018, e-invoices comprised about 30% of the 1.2 million invoices sent by the city’s municipal authorities and agencies. Just 14% of invoices sent to social and health care service customers were electronic.