e-GOVERNMENT IN FINLAND - ePractice.eu

is illustrative. An online transaction costs EUR 0.11 while a manual transaction costs EUR 1. In addition,
e-banking has allowed Nordea to eliminate half of its branches. In 2000, profits jumped by
USD 400 million largely owing to e-banking initiatives.
49. Finland’s best preparation for online transactions – both e-commerce and e-government – may in
fact be its experience with e-banking. Finland is at the forefront in the use of online banking services,
particularly by business. In 2000, Nordea, one of the largest banks in Finland, had:
x 6.9 million online banking transactions per month and 2.3 million online customers.
x 6.9 million online bill payments monthly, more than any other bank in the world (by way of
comparison, the Bank of America had 3.1 million transactions and 3.2 million online
customers in 2001).
x Two-thirds of its Finnish clients handle their bank transactions via the Internet.
x 80% of its securities trading is handled via the Internet, reducing transaction costs by more
than 90%.
x A fifth of its loan applications are processed and approved over the Internet, saving the bank
30% in processing fees per loan. 13
50. E-banking’s rapid growth in Finland is connected, in part, to the banking sector crisis of the late
1980s and the need to cut costs and find alternative, cost-effective ways to provide services. E-commerce,
on the other hand, has not yet reached this level of penetration and familiarity. The change from subsidised
to cost-based transaction fees has served to make e-banking a more attractive option than traditional branch
services. No fees are charged for paying bills online and an online share transaction of less that EUR 5000
costs only EUR 12. Many banks have closed branches and charge for face-to-face banking services,
thereby pushing people to use e-banking.
Key Points - 7
x The overall development of the Finnish information society will affect the take-up of both
e-commerce and e-government.
x Given the high level of ICT penetration in Finland, take-up of electronic services is
determined less by access than by familiarity, experience and skills, especially for complex
services. One would expect the popularity of e-banking in Finland to affect the take-up of
e-government services, although it does not yet appear to have done so for e-commerce.
2.3 Demand for e-government
51. As in most OECD countries, relatively little is known about overall demand in Finland for egovernment
services, although the government and other e-government stakeholders such as the Chamber
of Commerce have carried out some general customer surveys in order to help understand service demand
and customer’s preferences. (See Box 2.2- Part 4.3, “E-engagement”, looks more closely at what the
Finnish government is doing to consult with its citizens.)
13 “eBiz Bonus: Helsinki's Dynamo of E-Banking”, Business Week, 16 April 2001.
34