Nets

The Nordic Payment Services Provider

Photograph: iStock

Text: Mariano Anthony Davies

Nets is the leading payment services provider in the Nordics and has led the way in the development of digital payments and related services so that the Nordic countries have become the most digitised region in Europe.

Digital payment services were first introduced in Denmark at a consumer level with “Dankort” in 1983, and this became a turning point. It played a vital role in this development by shaping a new digital reality based on innovation, stability and security.

User-friendly digital transactions

Handling billions of transactions annually, Nets is now among the top payment processors in Europe and has kept a tight focus on making it even easier and more intuitive for customers to handle digital payments and related services.

This digital payment services provider has played an essential role in placing the Nordic countries so far ahead when it comes to digital footprint with an ambition to turn a complex reality into easy, intuitive and customer-oriented solutions and ensure that they remain a reliable hub of the payments industry - building on unmatched connectivity.

Nets operate a deeply entrenched network which connects merchants, financial institutions, corporate customers and consumers, enabling them to make and receive digital payments as well as, increasingly, utilise value-added services to help them improve their respective activities. It operates across the payment value chain from payment capture and authorisation through to processing, clearing and settlement.

Its complementary product portfolios empower merchants to benefit from the digitisation of payments with state-of-the-art e-commerce gateways, merchant portals and invoicing solutions for e-commerce merchants.

“The covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant rise in the use of digital financial tools. the increase has been as much as 55%.”

Growth strategy

Nets have merchant customers in all the Nordic and Baltic countries, as well as in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and South-Eastern Europe. This amounts to more than 700,000 merchant outlets, including over 140,000 online merchant outlets, ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises to large international retail chains. These services are also available through a broad set of distribution channels, including indirect partnership relationships such as bank referrals, value-added resellers and web developers.

In 2019, Nets merged with Concardis Payment Group and took a giant step in Europe to expand and improve the service offering and to bring product innovations to the market even faster.

EU digital economy

In the latest EU Digital Economy Survey, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway rank first, second, third and fourth respectively in the use of digital technologies for both enterprises and citizens in general. The only European country that ranks closest to the Nordic countries is The Netherlands.

An extremely high percentage of people in the Nordic region use the Internet and have an advanced level of digital skills. Digital technology has been incorporated into the Nordic society in all sectors, including retail, business, industry, commerce and government.

Anti-fraud solutions

Nets are the preferred processing partner for more than 250 banks and cover a wide range of issuers across Europe. Its security and anti-fraud offerings are second to none as they help verify transaction details, ensure funds are available in the cardholder’s account and perform anti-fraud measures before authorisation – and all this is done in less than a second.

Customer management services at Nets include geo-blocking and dynamic limit management. Furthermore, their anti-fraud services ensure compliance with domestic and EU regulations, as well as card scheme rules and regulations. Nets also use the very latest technology (built on artificial intelligence) to monitor, prevent and capture payment fraud.

Digital acceleration

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant rise in the use of digital financial tools, both in banking services as well as at merchants, who saw an increase within e-commerce and mobile commerce. The rise was as high as 55% and in most countries at least 15%.

In many countries, ordering groceries online increased significantly as many more consumers began to pay digitally by card or smartphone and above all “contactless” – especially in countries such as in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), where cash has been the predominant method of payment to date.

Due to the Corona pandemic, politicians and retailers have promoted cashless and contactless payment to minimise the risk of infection. Consumers have understood that this form of payment is more hygienic than using cash and have complied. In general, the pandemic has pushed us further towards a digital era, accelerating the uptake of digital services and tools - speeding up the European transition to digital commerce.