How This Nordic Retail Giant Deals With Payments | Pay It Forward With S Group

S Group are one of the largest retail conglomerates in Finland and in the latest episode of the Pay It Forward podcast with payabl., we spoke to their Vice President of Payments, Kai Lindström.

Here we get an insight into the payment preferences in Finland, the increasing rise of mobile wallet payments and how they have successfully integrated their loyalty program.

Lindström also shares insights on the importance of customer data, and potential benefits the ISO 20022 standard may have. It’s a very real look at how payments intersect with everyday customer convenience.

It’s important to point out just how ubiquitous S Group is in Finland. Their retail operation spans grocery stores, hospitality, traffic services, department stores, an amusement park, and even a bank. They’re the largest retail conglomerate in the country and mainly compete with one other organisation, K Group. Lindström of course has the important role of overseeing all things payments, ensuring compliance and managing vendor relationships.

Where payments and groceries intersect

The interview highlights the breadth of Lindström’s responsibilities, given the diverse sectors S Group operates in. Payments is obviously a central concern for S Group who also recently entered into an extensive partnership with paytech Adyen. The discussion then shifts more broadly to the payments ecosystem in Finland which according to Lindström is predominantly a debit card society, with 84% of transactions made via cards, 90% of which are debit transactions.

Mobile wallet payments are on the rise but still represent a small fraction of transactions. Increasingly, like other Nordic countries, cash usage is minimal. He also discusses the popularity of alternative payment methods like the Danish MobilePay and bank links, which stem from historical consumer caution towards sharing card details online.

As mentioned above, Lindström explains S Group’s commitment to their successful loyalty scheme, which is crucial for customer retention and satisfaction. He mentions the challenges they face, such as integrating loyalty points with Apple Pay, necessitating a custom-built orchestration layer to handle S Group-specific features and ensure seamless payment experiences across different channels.

As e-commerce grows alongside S Group’s physical operations, Lindström highlights the importance of maintaining a consistent payment experience both in-store and online. Although the majority of transactions currently occur in-store, S Group is focused on expanding their e-commerce presence significantly in the coming years. With this comes the need to optimise payment methods and customer journeys to avoid unnecessary security checks and improve user experience.

There are further discussions about the increasing blend between physical and digital and we get a look at the anticipated impact of the ISO 20022 standard on S Group. Be sure to watch the video above, to hear about this and much more. It’s a fascinating discussion that looks at how S Group have got both eyes on the future and always seeking to innovate.