Guide to banking and insurance services for people who have moved to Finland

You can start the customer process by filling in a customer form at our op.fi site. Before submitting the form, you must have a Finnish personal ID code, an address in Finland, right of residence or the registered right of residence of an EU citizen and a personal ID document. Only a person aged 18 or over can submit the form. 

You will need these documents to become an OP customer: 

• A valid personal ID document 
• A residence permit or the registered right of residence of an EU citizen 
• Documents on the source of funds to be deposited in the account

For example, these authorities provide services related to moving to Finland:

• DVV: the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (Finnish Digital Agency) maintains personal information in the Population Information System. 
• Tax Administration: The Finnish Tax Administration is a Finnish authority responsible for collecting taxes for society.
• Migri: The Finnish Immigration Service makes decisions related to immigration, asylum, refugee, and citizenship matters and maintains the reception system in Finland.
• Kela: The Social Insurance Institution of Finland is an independent public institution that takes care of the basic cover of people living in Finland in various life situations. Kela’s customers are everyone living in Finland and those persons living abroad who are covered by the Finnish social security system.
• Business Finland: Business Finland is a Finnish public-sector organisation providing funding, internationalisation services, information, advice and networking for various stages of business activities.

You can get banking user IDs online or by visiting an OP cooperative bank branch by appointment. OP User ID is a strong electronic identification which you can use to log in to OP’s services, sign agreements and applications, confirm online payments, and identify yourself in third-party services such as MyTax and Kela.

If you do not yet have a customer relationship or account with OP cooperative bank before issuing user IDs, the services will be opened during the same visit. 

To get the OP User ID, you must have a Finnish personal identity code. Please bring the following with you to an OP branch office

• A Finnish passport, service passport or diplomatic passport
• An identity card, issued by a Finnish authority, that indicates its period of validity, or
• A passport issued in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or San Marino, a diplomatic passport or an ID card accepted as a travel document.

If you have a passport issued in another country, and you cannot obtain a Finnish identity card, visit the police for identification before coming to the branch. The police will then provide us with a certificate for initial identification.

You can get the OP Service User ID if you have one of the following documents:

• A Finnish seafarer’s passport
• A driving licence issued by a Finnish authority (granted to a Finnish citizen on or after 1 October 1990, excluding a temporary, fixed-term, exchanged or mobile driving licence)
• A passport issued in another country or a diplomatic passport.

You can use the OP Service User ID to identify yourself only in certain OP services and pay online purchases in third-party services.

We want to ensure that when opening banking services, all required documents are available. Our website contains detailed information about what is needed to open banking services. When you fill in the form on our website, our customer service representatives will contact you and ensure that you have all the necessary documents available. Our customer service representatives will then book an appointment for you at a branch so that you can discuss the services you need. We can thus ensure that opening banking services will be smooth and quick.

We ask for clarifications about the source of funds and their purpose because we have a statutory obligation to find out the source of the funds in our customer’s account. By requesting information and clarification, the bank can understand the basis on which its customers operate, enabling it to spot and investigate unusual activity. If necessary, the bank may also request additional documentation to clarify the information you have provided.

It does not cost anything to open an account. During the process of opening a customer relationship, we will discuss on the banking services suitable for you, and those services may be subject to fees. 

After you have opened an account and other banking services suitable for you, you can also become OP cooperative bank's owner-customer by paying the member cooperative contribution, which is 100 euros in most OP cooperative banks. There are no other membership fees. OP Financial Group is a customer-owned financial services group, and as an owner-customer, you will get benefits and discounts from services and earn OP bonuses with a monetary value.

Remember to keep your OP user ID and payment card safe. They are your personal payment instrument and authentication credentials. Never disclose them to anyone.

The account must always have enough money to cover service charges. If you wish to expand your banking customer relationship, we will be happy to have a discussion with you about opening new services. OP provides banking and insurance services, as well as housing-related services, all under one roof. Banking services include daily services, financing and investment services, and corporate services. If you no longer need an account or other services, remember to terminate them before moving from Finland.

OP Financial Group is a financial services group owned by its customers. OP Financial Group’s mission is to promote the sustainable prosperity, security, and wellbeing of its owner-customers and operating region. OP’s operations are based on cooperative ideals, a strong capital base and capable risk management. Due to its cooperative basis, OP Financial Group aims not to maximise profits for its owners but to provide services needed by the cooperative's owner-customers as efficiently as possible. 

A long-term customer-driven approach is reflected in OP Financial Group’s continuous renewal. OP develops its services and products to meet customer needs. OP takes different customer groups and the regional coverage and availability of financial services effectively into consideration.

As an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, you own part of your local bank. This entitles you to unique benefits and valuable OP bonuses. As an owner-customer, you pay less for daily services and insurance. The more OP Financial Group’s services you use, the more you stand to benefit.

You can become an owner-customer by paying the member cooperative contribution. The amount of the contribution is 100 euros in most OP cooperative banks. There are no other membership fees. If you are an OP cooperative bank customer and have an OP user ID, you can become an owner-customer by logging in to the op.fi service.

You can be served in almost all OP cooperative bank branches in Finnish, Swedish and English. Remote meetings can also be held in the same languages. In addition, our Customer Service and digital services in OP-mobile and in the op.fi service are available in all three languages. If you need an interpreter, you must find and pay for one yourself.

The identity document that you’ll need at the bank depends on the matter you want to attend to.

If the matter is related to your banking user IDs for identifying yourself with strong identification, you will need a Finnish personal ID code. Please bring the following with you to an OP branch office:

• A Finnish passport, service passport or diplomatic passport
• An identity card, issued by a Finnish authority, that indicates its period of validity, or
• A passport issued in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or San Marino, a diplomatic passport or an ID card accepted as a travel document.

If you have a passport issued in another country, and you cannot obtain a Finnish identity card, visit the police for identification before coming to the branch. The police will then provide us with a certificate for initial identification.

If your matter concerns banking matters other than your banking user IDs valid for identifying yourself with strong identification, or if you are taking care of someone else’s affairs, such as your child, you can use the following as your personal identity document:

• A Finnish passport, seafarer’s passport, service passport or diplomatic passport
• An identity card issued by a Finnish authority that indicates its period of validity
• A driving licence issued by a Finnish authority (granted to a Finnish citizen on or after 1 October 1990, excluding a temporary, fixed-term, exchanged or mobile driving licence)
• A passport issued in the European Economic Area (EEA), San Marino or Switzerland, a diplomatic passport or an ID card accepted as a travel document, or
• A passport issued in another country or a diplomatic passport.

An alien’s passport or refugee’s travel document is not an acceptable form of proof of identity in banking matters.

Your identity document must not be damaged or have expired. You must also be recognisable by its photo.

In Finland, purchases are generally paid for with a debit card, and bills using online or mobile banking services. 

If you do need cash, you can use your card to withdraw cash from cash ATMs, OP cooperative bank branches providing cashier services and cash registers of some shops. You can deposit cash at deposit ATMs or at an OP branch.

You can retrieve your bank statement in the op.fi service or OP-mobile if you have an OP user ID, and you have selected online bank statement for your account. The account holder can switch from a paper bank statement to an online bank statement in the online service under Account details.

If you use the op.fi service, do the following:

After logging in to the op.fi service, you can retrieve one bank statement at a time, covering between one year and one day.

1. Bank statements can be found on the front page of the op.fi service under account numbers. Click on Bank statements and select the account in question. You can then save or print your bank statement.
2. Select the account for which you want a bank statement. Go to the menu to open a list of your currently used and closed accounts. Closed accounts are at the end of the list.
3. Automatically generated bank statements are available for each month. Each bank statement opens as a PDF on a new tab. Make sure that you have enabled pop-ups in your browser settings.
4. You can create a bank statement of your own by selecting the period of your choice. Select a period from the Calendar view or enter numerical dates in the search view. Continue by retrieving the account details. You will find the bank statement under Your online bank statement. The bank statement will open as a PDF on a new tab. Make sure that you have enabled pop-ups in your browser settings.
5. You can save the bank statement as a file or print it out on paper. For example, when using the Google Chrome browser, you will find the commands for saving and printing a file in the browser menu (upper right corner).
6. If you download the file, a window opens in which you can select where to save the file. Select the desired location and save.
7. If you wish to attach the bank statement as a file to a Kela application, for example, select the file in the Kela application in the location where you saved it.

If you need bank statements older than 18 months, do the following:

Online bank statements are available in the op.fi service free of charge for the last six years, and account transactions for the last two years. If you need older bank statements or statements printed at a bank branch, we can deliver them to you on request. We will charge a fee for this based on the list of service charges and fees. You can submit your request for a bank statement by message in OP-mobile or the op.fi service. Select Accounts and payments as the message topic. Please note that bank statements older than 10 years cannot be retrieved. Please give the account number and the period for which you need the bank statement. We can submit bank statements by post or at a bank branch of your choosing for collection.

If you have an OP user ID, you can pay bills anywhere and at any time in the op.fi service and OP-mobile. You can order e-invoices, in which case the bill will automatically appear in the op.fi service and OP-mobile, and you can approve the payment without having to type in the account and reference numbers. Payments in the digital service are free of charge. In OP-mobile, you can also pay using only a phone number as a Siirto payment.

You can pay bills without an OP user ID by agreeing a direct payment with the payee. In this case, you will get a notification of the bill by post to your home address, but the payment will be automatically debited from your account. You can also send bills for payment using a payment envelope or pay bills at OP’s branches offering cashier services.

You can order an e-invoice at op.fi or in OP-mobile after you have logged in. Find the payee, select the correct subject of invoice and fill in the information requested during the ordering process. You can either choose to approve each bill separately or to pay the bills automatically. Once the payee gets notification of an ordered e-invoice, they will send the bills directly to the op.fi service and OP-mobile. There you can see bill details and edit the due date and the amount due as agreed with the payee, and approve the bill for payment. Paying with an e-invoice is free of charge.

The easiest way to pay without an OP user ID is to use direct payment. You can order direct payments from different payees by calling our Customer Service or visiting an OP branch. Use the latest bill to see the details needed for the payment. In direct payment, you will receive the information about a coming bill and its details by post at your home address, and OP will take care of debiting the bill for you on the due date. You will see the debit in your next bank statement. Making direct payments is free of charge.

You can send your paper bills for payment in OP’s payment envelope. With OP’s payment envelope, you can leave your paper bills in a post box, and OP will make the payment for you. Please send your bills well in advance, or no later than 5 working days before the required payment date. You can thus ensure that the post can be delivered to OP, and OP has time to process your bill. This service is subject to a charge according to the list of charges and fees.

You can get OP’s payment envelopes, credit transfer forms and written instructions from your nearest OP cooperative bank branch or order them to be delivered to your home by calling our Customer Service. Instructions are printed on OP’s payment envelope. Please note that you must have a current account with OP to use OP’s payment envelope. Put only payment orders, or bills or credit transfer forms, in the envelope.

Payments outside Finland can be made as easily as domestic payments in the digital services. You just need some additional information from the payee. Select a new payment and the option International payment in OP-mobile. Enter the payee’s account number, name and address. In the op.fi service, select a new payment. When you enter the account number, the service will verify whether you are making an international payment. Enter the amount to be paid, the currency used for the payment and a message. You will also need the payee’s bank details. We recommend that you use the BIC/SWIFT, but if this is impossible, you can also use the clearing, ABA, fedwire or routing number, and the bank’s name and address. Select whether you wish to send the payment as a normal payment instruction or instant payment instruction. The instant payment instruction is more expensive and does not greatly speed up the payment. Finally, select how the costs are shared between the payer and the payee. You can still check the payment details in the summary before approving the payment. 

An international payment will not necessarily be debited from your account immediately. It can be debited after 30 minutes or on the following banking day. Please wait patiently for the payment to be debited from your account. Do not make the payment again. The payment reaches the payee in accordance with the payee’s bank schedule, during the same day at its quickest, but sometimes after several days. After the amount is debited, you will receive the receipt in English in both the op.fi service and OP-mobile.

The granting of a credit card requires a Finnish personal identity code and an identity document accepted for banking services, as well as permanent residence and an address in Finland. In addition, you are required to have regular income in terms of pay or pension, sufficient repayment capacity, and well-managed personal finances. In general, we also require that you have lived in Finland for at least two years. 

You can open an account and apply for a card for a child in the op.fi service.

You can open an account only after the child’s name has been registered in the Population Information System. You will also need an OP user ID to fill in the application in the op.fi service. However, opening an account for a child is impossible in the op.fi service if one of the guardians does not have a user ID for a Finnish bank. In these cases, you can open an account for your child by booking an appointment at an OP branch.

A corporate account and other corporate services are opened at a branch by appointment. The company must have a justified reason to open a bank account in Finland, and the company must operate in Finland. Additionally, the company must be registered in Finland. The company will also need a person who has the right to represent the company and manage affairs in Finland.

Selling of cheques in the Group has ended. We recommend our customers to use digital and safer payment methods for money transfers. OP no longer writes cheques.

If you have received a foreign cheque, you can have it collected through your own OP cooperative bank. Cheque collection means that the OP cooperative bank requests the funds to cover the cheque from the bank that issued the cheque. After the funds have been transferred from the issuing bank to the OP cooperative bank, you will get the money into your account. The customer must pay for the collection of a cheque in every case, including when the funds are not transferred from the issuing bank to the OP cooperative bank.

Instead of cheques, we recommend that you receive payments by credit transfer, in which case the funds are transferred to the recipient’s account much faster, and OP’s service charge is much cheaper than for a foreign cheque. You can give the payer your bank connection details for this as follows: 

Beneficiary account IBAN: FIxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xx 

Beneficiary name and address: 

Beneficiary bank name and address:

OP Corporate Bank Plc
Gebhardinaukio 1
00510 Helsinki, Finland
SWIFT (BIC): OKOYFIHH

When you need a loan, OP has the right option for you. When buying a home, you can apply for a home loan. You can apply for a student loan to finance your studies. For various smaller or bigger purchases such as a car or renovation, you can apply for a secured or unsecured consumer loan.

In general, anyone can buy a home in Finland. If you are from outside the EU and EEA, you’ll need a real-estate purchase permit from the Ministry of Defence. 

If you want to apply for a home loan from OP cooperative bank, it is possible under certain conditions. A residence permit, a Finnish personal identity code and at least a temporary address in Finland are required.

You can apply for a home loan to buy or build a home. Once we have received your home loan application, we will contact you to schedule a time for a loan negotiation.

The loan negotiation can be in Finnish, Swedish or English. If you need an interpreter, you must arrange one yourself and book a loan negotiation appointment at a bank branch.

Consumer loans are for both small and large purchases. You can apply for a loan to buy items such as a car, or to renovate your home. The amount of the loan you need and its purpose determine which consumer loan suits you best. The loan options also differ from each other in terms of collateral and the interest rate. You can apply for a consumer loan conveniently online.

Granting an unsecured consumer loan requires a Finnish personal identity code and an identity document accepted for banking services, as well as a permanent residence and address in Finland. In addition, you are required to have regular income in terms of pay or pension, sufficient repayment capacity, and well-managed personal finances. In general, we also require you to have lived in Finland for at least three years.

OP has a wide selection of funds, most of which are suitable for systematic investing. You can make a savings agreement in the op.fi service or OP-mobile. Buying funds requires a customer relationship at an OP cooperative bank and a valid account.

To invest in stocks, you will need OP’s book-entry account or an equity savings account, the service package of your choosing, a User ID and Digital Agreement, and an account. Many investors open both custody accounts for themselves to benefit from their various features.

As an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, you can start investing in stocks without monthly charges. Our services for stock investors consist of two different packages, depending on the investor’s trading activity and needs.  A custody and a book-entry account or an equity savings account are automatically included in the service packages. In addition, the service packages include domestic and international equity analyses free of charge to support stock picking. 

If you are already our customer, you can open a book-entry account and select a suitable service package in the op.fi service. You can open an equity savings account for yourself in OP-mobile. If you do not yet have an OP user ID, please contact your nearest OP cooperative bank or become our customer in the op.fi service. 

If you have investments via another bank, you can transfer your book-entry account to us. Before the transfer, ask your current service provider for the purchase prices of shares and submit them to your own OP cooperative bank so that the purchase prices will be updated in the information. During the transfer, your trading in securities will be interrupted for around five working days. 

If you need assistance with trading, or if something else concerns you, please contact our experts in OP-mobile or the op.fi service.  You can also contact our Customer Service by phone. The contact details can be found here.

The taxation of dividends depends on the amount of your capital income, and whether you have invested in an equity savings account or book-entry account. You can check the current capital income tax rate with the Tax Administration.

With the equity savings account, dividends are taxed only when you withdraw funds from the account. Dividends paid to a book-entry account are taxed annually. If you need additional information about the taxation of investments, please contact your own bank or the Tax Administration.

Consider these matters when trading in international stocks:

• A possible transaction tax and the trading fee may differ from trading in Finland
• Tax practices and the currency risk when investing outside the euro area
• Order lengths may differ from those in Finland. Each stock exchange may have its own special features
• Trading in the USA requires Qualified Intermediary (QI) documentation. If you encounter issues with trading on the U.S. stock market, please contact your cooperative bank, and we will assist you with the QI documentation. 

When it comes to international equity investment, it is also worth noting that different markets have their own fees, and possibly also transaction taxes. For example, France levies a 0.30 per cent transaction tax on the purchase of equities in the biggest French companies. Also, a financial transaction tax of 0.20 per cent is collected on purchases of equities in Spanish companies. The Spanish government collects this tax on any purchases of stocks issued by companies with a market capitalisation of more than one billion euros.

You can calculate the price and buy insurance policies easily in the op.fi service. If you wish, you can request an offer for several insurance policies on the offer request form.

If you wish to change your current insurance policies, some of the changes are possible in the op.fi service under Insurance or by calling our Customer Service at 03030303 (Mon–Fri 8–17).

A home insurance policy safeguards your home and covers your belongings. It also covers the items you carry outside your home in Finland and in the Nordic countries up to 5,000 euros. A home insurance policy gives you security and peace of mind in the event of larger or smaller damage.

A home insurance policy can give you security in the event of losses due to a fire, natural phenomenon, crime, breakage and leaks. For example, a fire can destroy everything you own, and replacing this property (furniture, electronics, textiles, dishes, clothes, etc.) can be extremely expensive. A home insurance policy can cover the costs of replacing your movable property up to the maximum compensation in accordance with the insurance terms and conditions.

A general liability insurance policy is an important security that provides protection in situations where you cause injury or damage to another person or their property and are held legally liable for what has happened. If you do not have general liability insurance and cause injury or damage to another person through your negligence, you will be liable for the damages in full on your own. Also, landlords generally require that you have a general liability insurance policy when signing a lease agreement.

You can buy the general liability insurance policy if you have home contents insurance with us. In addition to general liability insurance, we recommend legal expenses insurance, which covers legal expenses in a disputed civil case, criminal case or non-contentious civil case concerning your private life. A typical example of a covered case is a dispute related to the sale or purchase of a home.

You can buy home and motor vehicle insurance policies without a personal identity code by visiting our branch with your personal ID document. Be prepared to pay the premium for the entire year for the insurance.

It is the amount deducted from the compensation sum that you pay yourself. The higher the deductible you choose, the lower the annual cost of the insurance. A lower deductible increases the annual cost of the insurance.

When compensating for household items, a depreciation deduction is always applied to certain items. Such items include household appliances, IT equipment, eyeglasses and sunglasses, as well as sports equipment and gear.

The age reduction is the amount deducted from the compensation in the event of damage. The age reduction rate is calculated by multiplying the age reduction percentage by the number of full calendar years following the original year when the item was first used. 

You can check the details of age reductions in our insurance terms and conditions.

Example: 
A household item worth 900 euros breaks down, and the age reduction of this item is 10% as specified in the insurance terms and conditions. The item was two years old, so when the age reduction and the deductible are taken into account, the compensation payable is as follows: 

€900 − (€900 x 10% x 2 yrs) − €250 = €470

When a new bill is generated, it is typically given a payment period of about five weeks. In some cases, this payment term may overlap two different billing cycles, resulting in two bills from two different billing periods during the same month. That is why it is important to check which billing periods the bills refer to.

The bill specifies the billing period, which refers to the time the bill covers. For example, if you have chosen to split the billing into six instalments and the insurance starts on February 1, 2024. The billing period of the first bill is from 1 February to 31 March 2024, the billing period of the second bill is from 1 April to 31 May 2024, the billing period of the third bill is from 1 June to 31 July 2024, etc.

The bills also include details about the bill (e.g. to which insurance contract and vehicle it applies).

Insurance policies must always be cancelled in writing, and the most convenient way to do this is to send us a message in the op.fi service or OP-mobile. Please include the following information in your message:

- the contract number
- the insured object
- the name of the insurance to be cancelled / an itemised list of the types of cover to be cancelled
- the date of cancellation (at the earliest, the current date)
- your bank account number for any potential refund

Please note that statutory motor liability insurance cannot be cancelled directly in the online service. You can cancel it only if the vehicle changes owners, is deregistered with a certificate of destruction  or due to an accident, or if the vehicle has taken out of use. 

If you do not use the vehicle, you can take it out of use it in the online service of the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom or by visiting the nearest vehicle inspection station. You should cancel motor liability insurance only if the vehicle is out of use for a long period.  

Once the vehicle is taken out of use, you can cancel its motor liability insurance by sending a message via OP’s digital services. The message should include the name of the insurance to be cancelled and the vehicle’s registration number.

In the op.fi service, you can grant another person a power of attorney to handle your insurance and claims matters.

• Log in to the op.fi service
• Select Insurance
• Select Power of attorney for insurance services

The authorised person can handle matters in the op.fi service and OP-mobile, by phone, and at a bank branch. They can also see the principal’s insurance information in OP’s digital services. A power of attorney authorises the holder to manage insurance policies and claims for the principal, excluding the right to name beneficiaries, complete a health declaration or authorise a third party.

The easiest way to file a loss report is in OP-mobile or the op.fi service, and this is how you will receive a claim settlement decision in the fastest way.

Claim Help provides guidance in the event of a loss, as well as contact details for Pohjola Insurance partners near you.

When travelling outside the Nordic countries, it is advisable always to carry a Green Card certifying the validity of your motor liability insurance. The Green Card is valid in the countries stated on the card.

When travelling abroad with a vehicle, you must also have the technical section of the vehicle registration certificate with you. The certificate’s technical section is available from the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom’s online service and at vehicle inspection stations. If your vehicle is owned by a finance company, be sure to request an authorisation to take the motor vehicle abroad.

You can print out the Green Card from the op.fi service for your travels to certify the validity of your motor liability insurance.

In Claim Help, you can find out more about how to proceed in the event of a loss or damage. Find out more about how to proceed in the event of a vehicle accident abroad.