22 August 2024
Borderless payments
Norwegians, Danes, and Finns are sending each other over 1,000 payments daily, aligning with Vipps MobilePay's expectations prior to the launch of cross-border payments. However, in one area, people’s payment habits have differed from what was expected.
On June 19th, the ability for Vipps MobilePay users to pay each other across borders in Norway, Denmark, and Finland was launched. As long as your friend in Aarhus or Tampere or Bergen has the Vipps or MobilePay app, you now only need their phone number to send them money.
"We had a target of approximately 1,000 daily cross-border payments after the summer holidays. We have exceeded this by a good margin. By midweek, we had made nearly 65,000 transfers across the Nordics. At the same time, the average amount per transaction has grown larger than we expected," says Product Manager Espen Andreassen at Vipps MobilePay.
He has a theory about why the average transaction amount has increased, linking it to who is most frequently making cross-border payments. Although young people are the most frequent users, those in their 50s are also high on the list.
"We had a target of approximately 1,000 daily cross-border payments after the summer holidays. We have exceeded this by a good margin. By midweek, we had made nearly 65,000 transfers across the Nordics. At the same time, the average amount per transaction has grown larger than we expected," says Product Manager Espen Andreassen at Vipps MobilePay.
He has a theory about why the average transaction amount has increased, linking it to who is most frequently making cross-border payments. Although young people are the most frequent users, those in their 50s are also high on the list.
“We have a good handful of Nordic users in the 90+ age group. That is so great, and says something about how very, very easy it is to use the service. The recipient just needs to add a receiving card, and then you can pay friends and acquaintances across the Nordics,
Espen Andreassen
Product Manager at Vipps MobilePay
"Our theory is that young people often sent each other money for a round of ice cream or beer over the summer. The fact that people in their 50s are now making more payments, and the average amount is growing, could be due to more parents than expected sending money to their children studying abroad," says Andreassen.
And it’s not just parents and children sending money across borders. Grandparents and great-grandparents are also using the Vipps and the MobilePay app.
"We have a good handful of Nordic users in the 90+ age group. That is so great, and says something about how very, very easy it is to use the service. The recipient just needs to add a receiving card, and then you can pay friends and acquaintances across the Nordics," Andreassen adds.
And it’s not just parents and children sending money across borders. Grandparents and great-grandparents are also using the Vipps and the MobilePay app.
"We have a good handful of Nordic users in the 90+ age group. That is so great, and says something about how very, very easy it is to use the service. The recipient just needs to add a receiving card, and then you can pay friends and acquaintances across the Nordics," Andreassen adds.
