P27, the cross-border payments platform being developed by six Nordic banks, has named Martin Andersson as independent chairperson as the project prepares for operational roll out.
Backed by Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, OP Financial Group, SEB and Swedbank, P27's lofty ambition is to create one common state of the art payment platform in the Nordic countries.
The project moved a step closer in October last year with the acquisition of Bankgirot (Bankgirocentralen BGC AB), Sweden’s only clearing house for mass payments.
Conditioned on regulatory approvals, including merger approval by the European Commission and ownership assessment by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, P27 expects to close the acquisition in Q1.
Once approved, work will begin on migrating salaries, invoicing, and pensions to P27 from Bankgirot.
Andersson comes to the project with more than 20 years of experience in the financial sector. He is currently partner at the management consulting firm Oliver Wyman and was previously director general of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority between 2009 and 2015.
He is joined on the board by Silvija Seres, currently managing partner at the Norwegian technology investment company Technorocks.
Paula da Silva, former interim chairperson of the board of P27 and chairperson of the nomination committee, comments: “P27 was established in 2017 with the mission to build the world’s first integrated cross-border and multicurrency payments region, connecting the 27 million people living in the Nordics and beyond. After three years of fast progress, we are now preparing to become fully operational.
The appointment of Martin Andersson as independent chairperson and Silvija Seres as independent board member marks an important step in our continued journey. As independent board members Martin and Silvija will, with their competence and experience, add valuable expertise to the board.”