1. Student loan interest is capitalised during the studies
During the period when you receive student financial aid, interest on the student loan is added to the loan principal. In other words, the amount of your student loan increases by the amount of interest. Capitalisation of interest takes place twice a year, on 15 June and 15 December.
After your last student financial aid term, the student loan interest will be capitalised for one more term. For example, if you receive student financial aid in May for the last time, interest on your student loan will be added to the principal in June and one more time in December of the same year.
2. Initially, you only pay the interest on the student loan
Initially, you only pay the interest on the student loan. The first interest payments will start approximately a year after you last received student financial aid. Interest is paid three times at an interval of six months, in mid-June and mid-December, meaning every six months for one and a half years.
Kela's interest assistance
Under certain conditions, you can receive interest assistance from Kela for the payment of student loan interest.
3. Student loan repayment begins
Actual student loan repayment (repayment of the loan principal) begins approximately two years after student financial aid ends. In other words, the repayment of the student loan can begin even before you graduate if you stop receiving student financial aid.
The student loan is repaid according to the repayment plan
When the interest on your student loan is capitalised for the first time, we will automatically send you a repayment plan, defining how the loan will be repaid. You can see the repayment plan in the Loans section of OP's digital services.
The repayment plan shows you the student loan repayment schedule, the amount of repayment instalments, and the loan's interest and charges. If the repayment plan suits you, the repayment of the loan will automatically begin according to the repayment plan.
The instalments are debited automatically
Student loan repayments are made once a month. Each instalment includes a loan principal repayment, interest and charges. The instalment will be automatically debited from the account defined by you on the due date. Make sure there are sufficient funds in the debit account.
Student loans are amortised in variable annuities, which means that the instalment changes when the loan's reference interest rate changes, but the loan term stays the same.
Student loan interest rate and charges
The student loan borrowing rate is based on the reference interest rate plus the bank’s margin. The reference interest rate is either the 12-month Euribor or OP-Prime, depending on your choice in the student loan application.
Student loan costs consist of the reference interest rate, the bank's margin and loan charges such as loan servicing costs. The effective interest rate includes the full costs of a loan converted to an annual interest rate.
Changes to student loans
You can apply for changes to the repayment of a student loan after you have received your first repayment plan from us.
You can apply for a repayment holiday, change to the instalment amount or a change to the due date. You can also change the debit account of the loan.
An extra student loan repayment and student loan compensation
You can make an extra student loan repayment in addition to regular instalments free of charge. An extra repayment does not defer the loan's next instalment or payment date.
Please note that extra repayments can affect your student loan compensation, as they lower the loan principal which serves as the basis for calculating the compensation. If you start repaying your student loan during your studies, it may reduce the amount of your student loan compensation.
How to make an extra student loan repayment
- Log in to the op.fi service. In your loan affairs, select the student loan for which you wish to make a repayment and note the loan number.
- Go to your Daily banking in the Money section. Make a new payment and enter the loan number in the field where you are asked for the payee's account number. Then proceed as instructed.
- The debit amount in your account and the credit amount in your loan can be seen on the following weekday at the latest.
Student loan compensation
If you started your higher education studies after 1 August 2014 and graduate within the target time, you could be entitled to student loan compensation. You can check the amount of student loan compensation on Kela's website. This compensation is used as a one-off repayment of some of the loan principal.
Making good progress with your studies is worth it. Because student loan compensation reduces the loan principal, you may also end up paying less interest on your loan.
You can pay off your loan ahead of schedule
If you wish, you can repay the student loan all at once. If you want to pay off your total loan amount in one lump sum, please send us a message on op.fi or OP-mobile.
Include the following in your message:
- the loan number
- the number of the account to be used for the payment
- the date you wish to pay off your loan
