The Cloud, The Branch, and The Algorithm | Nordic Fintech Highlights August 2026

Welcome back to another edition of Nordic FinTech Highlights! This month, Pål and Janne are joined by a heavily jet-lagged Ville, who is battling through Zoom technical gremlins after an eight-day trip to the US West Coast. Fresh off a stateside marathon of exceptional progressive house and trance music, Ville powers through to help cover the biggest August headlines across the Nordic fintech landscape.In this episode, we break down:Avanza’s Algorithmic Ambitions: A look into Avanza Sigma, a new discretionary portfolio management service targeting high-net-worth individuals in Sweden with a low-fee structure. We debate the growing trend of AI-driven investments and whether humans are still in the loop behind the scenes.Ericsson & MTN’s Cloud Migration: Ericsson is moving its massive mobile money platform for MTN Group to the public cloud. We discuss the trade-offs between incredible cloud-native performance gains and the long-term reality of hyperscaler vendor lock-in.Revolut’s Push for a Finnish Branch: Revolut is applying for a branch license in Finland to finally offer local IBANs to its 250,000+ Finnish customers. We explore what this means for local e-invoicing, salary deposits, the strong authentication ecosystem, and the future of primary banking relationships.Finally, stick around to the very end to hear Janne’s latest terrible dad joke about the new €2 commemorative coins. You might regret doing so, but at least we warned you.Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne SalminenEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

Here at Fintech Daydreaming, we pride ourselves on the unedited, "live" feel of our recordings. Over the years, our listeners have been treated to everything from a hotel maid walking in on Ville, to New York police sirens, to Ville's automatic hydroponic garden sounding suspiciously like someone taking a bathroom break off-camera.This week however we successfully navigated the recording (with only a brief cameo from Pål's dog) to bring you a fantastic conversation with Rolf Jensen, VP of Technology at the Nordic neobank Lunar!We explore the "trench warfare" of the Nordic financial ecosystem and look under the hood at Lunar's technology strategy, including their new banking-as-a-platform capability, Moonrise.Tune in to hear us discuss:The Build vs. Buy Dilemma: Why Lunar opted to buy a ledger but build custom, atomic components around it to stay directly connected to local infrastructure.AI Supercharging Engineering: How Lunar’s development teams used AI to achieve a 5x increase in output—while actually seeing their incident rates drop!Invisible Banking: We debate an "agentic" future where the bank fades into the background, and ask the tough questions: will autonomous AI agents eventually need their own KYC processes and bank accounts?A Shameless Plug: Pål managed to limit the promotion of his new book, Rip Out the Core, to just a single mention.Whether you are interested in the explosive growth of neobanks, the real-world ROI of AI in software development, or just want to hear how we keep the recording on track, you won't want to miss this one.🎧 Listen to the full episode now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch us on YouTube! Let us know your thoughts in the comments: Are we heading toward a future where AI agents do our banking for us?Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville SointuEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

We are gearing up for Nordic Fintech Week with an exclusive, jam packed two guest episode! Ville and Pål sit down with two heavyweights of the European financial technology space to discuss everything from building challenger banks to the impending robot takeover. One thing we learned at least: we could’ve made this episode easily four hours long (but we didn’t, don’t worry).🚀 Ken Villum Klausen unveils ReportoAfter 11 years taking on the Nordic banking cartel at Lunar, Ken drops some massive news.He exclusively reveals his new startup: Reporto.Fresh off an 8.2 million euro seed round, they are building an artificial intelligence native audit firm from the ground up to take on the Big Four.🤖 Panagiotis Kriaris on the New Fintech PlaybookThe old growth playbook is officially dead.Panagiotis introduces the "agentic layer" where artificial intelligence agents make decisions and execute financial transactions for human users.His warning to legacy banks is clear: modernize your data architecture fast, or your systems will fail to communicate with these new autonomous agents.🎟️ Books and DiscountsPål proudly refuses to not mention once again that his new book, Rip Out The Core, is officially out across all platforms!Heading to Copenhagen for Nordic Fintech Week? Use the promo code FintechDaydreamingNFW25 for a 25% discount on your ticket!Will we be seeing you in Copenhagen?Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville SointuEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

July in the Nordics usually consists of out-of-office autoreplies and mosquito bites, but while we were all on vacation, the European Central Bank was busy clearing the table. Pål and Ville are back to the microphones alongside the ever-insightful Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm, to unpack it all.Here is what we are dissecting in our Nordic Fintech Highlights season 14 return:🇪🇺 The Digital Euro Pilot: The ECB has tapped 36 payment service providers for its retail pilot, targeting mid-2027. Ville gives us a highly enthusiastic breakdown of the aggressive 12-month timeline and offline capabilities, while Pål nods along.🇩🇰 Denmark’s "Doomsday" Bank: The Danish National Bank is building a dormant emergency backup bank to protect against "prolonged AI-driven cyber attacks." We ask the hard question: if AI breaks out, what stops it from hacking the backup too?🇫🇮 Finnish Bank Shopping: S-Bank is acquiring Oma Savings Bank for a cool €17.20 per share. We discuss how S-Bank is turning dormant supermarket loyalty cardholders into active banking customers—and accidentally acquiring corporate banking capabilities along the way.📖 Shameless Plugs: In case you’ve somehow managed to mis it: Pål wrote a book! Rip Out the Core is out now. We are currently accepting petitions to force Janne to narrate the Finnish-accented audiobook version.Grab your headphones and check out the full episode on your favorite podcast app or YouTube! Let us know in the comments: is a 12-month implementation window for the Digital Euro pilot a daydream or a reality?Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne SalminenEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

We have somehow survived long enough to make it to Season 14, and to kick things off, Ville is putting his co-host Pål in the hot seat. Pål actually went and published a brand new book, Rip Out the Core, proving that at least one half of this podcast is capable of being productive.We start the episode with a vintage Pål joke about minting meme coins. We will not spoil the punchline here, but let's just say it is wrong on several levels. Then we dive into the hard-earned lessons from his three decades of scars in banking transformation.If you have ever wondered why so many banking projects fail to meet expectations, this episode is your survival guide. We unpack:.- How a disastrous kitchen flood inspired his unified theory of Platform Enabled Banking Transformation..- The Goldfish Innovation Cycle where banks endlessly loop between chasing shiny new tech and retreating to painful core replacements..- Why the traditional RFP procurement process has devolved into AI generated checkbox theatre..- The Build Buy or Consume golden rule of banking architecture..- The twelve month rule for execution before your strategy hits the point of diminishing returns.What is the ultimate piece of advice Pål has for any bank CxO listening? You will have to tune in to the end of the episode to find out, but we can confirm it involves a blank piece of paper and a healthy dose of caffeine.Pål also has a special offer for our listeners. Post a picture of yourself with his book on LinkedIn, tag him, and he will send you a personalized signed sticky label for your copy. And if you spot the specific Easter eggs mentioning our very own Ville in the book, reach out to him for a mystery gift (because of course Ville's culinary ego could not resist making an appearance in Pål's kitchen metaphor).Grab your copy at ripoutthecore.com and tune in to the episode on your favorite podcast platform!Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville SointuEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

Your favorite fintech nerd hosts Pål Krogdahl and Ville Sointu are joined by Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm to close out the season before heading off to their summer holidays. We skipped the standard news roundup this time to reflect on the season, make some bold predictions, and let Pål shamelessly plug his upcoming book.Here’s what the guys daydreamed about in our season finale:🤖 The Robots Are Paying: "Professor" Ville breaks down Nordea’s massive milestone with Mastercard: executing the first real, live agentic card payment transaction in the Nordics.🏥 The Ultimate Book Launch: Pål’s new book on progressive modernization, Rip Out the Core, drops in July. Join the launch event on August 13th at Maria 01 - a former hospital, which is beautifully ironic for an event about performing surgery on legacy core systems! (Check the links below for the registration link to snag a free copy!)🏆 **Season Highlights:**The trio looks back at their absolute favorite moments, giving flowers to Aleksi Grym for his masterclass on the Digital Euro vs. Stablecoins (you know how much Ville and Pål love those) and exploring the Vipps MobilePay interoperability journey with Baard Slaattelid.🌍 Tech Sovereignty: A deep dive into why European institutions have to obsess over AI and payments independence before the "excrement hits the fan".💻 Ransomware Ramblings: We wrap things up with a genuinely terrible IT joke from Janne, which naturally leads to a completely unhinged tangent about Pål’s home server being held hostage by Bitcoin hackers.Have a fantastic, relaxing summer, and we’ll see you right back here for Season 14! (Like, subscribing, and leaving a 5-star review is basically implied at this point).Links mentioned in the episode:Sign up for “Rip out the core” book launch: https://www.lyyti.fi/reg/Rip_Out_the_Core_Book_Launch_0627Read Mobey Forum’s latest report “Payment is not just a Payment”: https://mobeyforum.org/payment-value-chain-mobey.htmlEpisode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville SointuEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

We finally did it. We recorded an episode about legacy and somehow ended up discussing drones, artillery, aviation safety culture, and why bankers apparently don’t need pockets in their suits.In this episode of Fintech Daydreaming, we’re joined by Erik Åkesson to unpack one of the most overused and misunderstood words in banking: legacy.Is it the root of all evil?Or is it actually the thing keeping the whole system standing?Erik brings a refreshingly broad perspective (and about 20 years of banking experience) to the table, drawing parallels from:Military strategy (yes, really)Aviation and safety cultureAnd the everyday reality of running a bank with systems older than some of its employeesWe explore:Why “legacy” isn’t just bad code, but the situation you’re in because of your historyHow banks might be underinvesting in understanding their current state (while overinvesting in PowerPoint futures)Whether AI is actually solving legacy problems… or just becoming the latest shiny objectAnd why improving your existing systems by 3% might matter more than launching the next flashy use caseNaturally, things got slightly heated towards the end as we debated what matters more:👉 defining the target state👉 or truly understanding where you are today(No clear winner. Just strong opinions. As usual.)Also:We recorded this before summerYou’re listening to it nowAnd we still don’t know how that keeps happening🎧 If you’ve ever worked in banking, fintech or tried to modernize anything without breaking everything this one’s for you.💬 Let us know: is legacy your biggest constraint or your biggest advantageEpisode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville SointuEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

We are out of the studio, trying our best to look respectable, and recording live in front of a real, breathing audience at the Nordic Fintech Summit right here in Helsinki! If you hear cheering, it’s probably for the free coffee, but we’ll pretend it’s for us.In this special live-stage episode, Pål and Ville manage not to trip over the stage wires while unpacking a massive lineup of regional heavyweights, policy debates, and our usual tech realism.Here is what went down on the main stage:**The Stablecoin Side-Eye: We kick off the show by breaking down the latest news on Qivalis and their recent expansion. If you’ve listened to more than two minutes of this podcast, you already know we aren't exactly waving pom-poms for stablecoins. Naturally, the segment ends with a painfully bad stablecoin joke—because if we have to suffer through the punchline, so do you.**Helsinki: Gateway to the Eurozone: Next, we host a brilliant fireside chat with Tuomas Toivonen (CEO of Holvi) and longtime friend of the pod Monika Liikamaa (Founder & Chair of Liikamaa Invest, and former CEO of Enfuce). Together, we dive deep into why Helsinki is uniquely positioned as the ultimate Nordic gateway to the Eurozone. We even managed to stay on track without getting distracted by the front-row audience.**The Core Modernization Conundrum: Lastly, we sit down with Fabian Klar (Regional Sales Manager at ERI) to tackle the technological future of banking. We look past the standard marketing buzzwords to discuss what the next decade actually means from a data architecture and core modernization perspective. (Spoiler: It involves a lot of hard work and fewer magic bullets than consultants claim).A massive thank you to everyone who showed up early, sat through our ramblings, and clapped at the right times!If you weren't there in person, you can still show us some love: hit subscribe, ring the notification bell, and leave us a glowing 5-star review. If you have notes on our stage presence, please keep them to yourself or find us at the afterparty to complain in person!Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville SointuEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

In this episode of Fintech Daydreaming, Ville and Pål are joined by Riikka Laine-Tolonen, CEO of S-Pankki: a bank that started from grocery shopping and somehow ended up managing billions.Riikka walks us through the origin story of S-Pankki - born from a retail cooperative, supercharged by the famous S-bonus, and launched just in time for the 2008 financial crisis (great timing, obviously). Fast forward 18 years, and it’s now one of Finland’s fastest-growing banks with 3.4 million customers.We get into:.- Why building a bank on top of a loyalty program actually works.- The reality of being a “challenger” bank… with full regulatory baggage.- The Handelsbanken Finland acquisition and what it unlocked.- And how S-Pankki is quietly moving into wealth management and private bankingWhich raises the obvious question: can a “bonus bank” really win over high-net-worth clients?That leads us into:.- Whether S-Pankki is Finland’s closest thing to a super app.- Why combining banking, retail, and daily life might actually work here (and nowhere else).- And what happens when your future bank might be talking to your AI instead of youAlong the way, we also learn:.- That your importance as a banking customer can be measured by the thickness of the oak table in front of you.- That private banking might be less about fancy offices and more about smart digital advice.- And that worrying about “long answers” is… not a problem on this podcastIf you’ve ever wondered what happens when a loyalty program meets banking ambition, this is the episode for you.Listen now - and don’t forget to check your bonus balance.Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville SointuEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

Welcome back to another monthly Nordic Fintech Highlights episode of Fintech Daydreaming! In this one, your hosts start off by complaining about what a slow news month it was—only to be immediately corrected by Janne, who points out that April was actually buzzing with funding rounds.Here’s what we covered:The Agentic Economy: Pål highlights SolvaPay, a Swedish fintech that just secured 2.5 million in pre-seed funding to build payment infrastructure for AI agents. As payments shift from humans to machines, we ask the tough liability questions: if your AI agent is tasked to buy 12 eggs but buys 12 chickens instead, whose fault is it?Revolut vs. The Dinosaurs: Janne brings us the news of NoCFO integrating with Revolut Business. Pål gets characteristically bullish, calling this another "nail in the coffin" for traditional Nordic banks, warning that they are entirely too arrogant to notice Revolut slowly chewing away at their market share.Swedbank Pay & Klarna: Ville covers Swedbank Pay adding Klarna's payment options. He attempts to explain why this isn't Swedbank raising the white flag to a competitor, but rather a strategic play to maintain merchant stickiness against global giants.The Bluetooth Battle: Janne delivers a genuinely terrible joke about a payment terminal visiting the dentist because it "blew a tooth". This triggers a historically inaccurate ramble from Ville, forcing Pål to consult ChatGPT mid-episode just to prove that Ericsson and a 10th-century Danish king were involved.Come watch us live on stage at the Nordic Fintech Summit in Helsinki on May 21st, where we will be kicking off the day with a live recording! Also, look out for Pål’s new book on progressive modernisation, Rip Out the Core, dropping in late July.Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne SalminenEpisode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming- Email us on [email protected] Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/