NextGen Nordics is set to return to Stockholm on April 23rd, featuring Camilla Åkerman, secretary general of the Nordic Payments Council (NPC), as our keynote speaker.
Åkerman will address the theme ‘Nordic payment infrastructure – is it time for a domestic focus?’. With over 30 years of banking experience, particularly in payments and settlement, she has spent the last eight years working to develop the future ISO 20022-based Nordic payment infrastructure.
In a discussion with Åkerman regarding the lessons learned from the P27 project’s challenges, she emphasized the importance of clear project scope and effective management. She stated, “The decommissioning of P27 serves as a reminder of the need for realistic expectations and a focused market approach.”
She highlighted the difficulties posed by managing multiple jurisdictions and the complexities introduced by expanding the project’s scope, which initially aimed to update outdated payment infrastructures. “This expansion led to prioritization challenges, making it difficult to determine the most critical components, ultimately increasing the project’s complexity,” she explained.
Regulatory hurdles also complicated the P27 initiative. “The lack of clear regulatory guidance resulted in greater time spent on compliance, introducing additional risks to the new infrastructure’s design,” she noted. Furthermore, market-driven initiatives, like the central banks’ involvement in transitioning from MT to XML standards, added more dependencies that complicated project timelines.
Despite the setbacks, Åkerman affirmed the commitment to creating a harmonised and standardised payment infrastructure in the region, stating that the NPC continues to develop rulebooks and implementation guidelines for payment service providers in the Nordics. These guidelines will underlie the modernization of clearing and settlement platforms.
Regarding cross-border payment infrastructure, Åkerman expressed optimism: “Significant progress has been made in harmonising ordinary credit transfers using SWIFT standards; however, challenges remain for instant cross-border payments that usually follow local formats. Various initiatives are underway to facilitate seamless instant transactions.”
Examples include the European Payments Council’s rulebook for One-Leg-Out credit transfers and collaborative efforts between organizations like TCH and EBA to support instant payments. She mentioned bilateral links established between countries such as India and Singapore as evidence of growing recognition of the need for immediate and seamless cross-border payments.
Looking ahead to NextGen Nordics, Åkerman hopes attendees will gain a clearer understanding of the future of the payments landscape, equipping them to prepare for new opportunities and enhancements for payment users in the Nordics.
For those interested in attending, register for NextGen Nordics 2024 here. Explore the full agenda here. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact events@finextra.com.