ak-2142140 — Annika Karppinen is a Product Manager at Evitec

Written by Annika Karppinen

Who still remembers the time when a money transfer between two parties took several days? Even between two banks operating in the same country, money transfer was by no means a straight highway but rather a local train, stopping several times during the process. In Finland this was put to history over 10 years ago, when euro countries moved to SEPA payments and ISO20022 standard enabled faster money transfers. Since then, also Evitec’s Evitec Life Payments has supported the ISO20022 format.

As Nordic countries form a unique market area, there is on a daily basis a significant number of money transfers within the region but the speed of those resemble that of a local train. Within the region there are several payment systems in use, many built on outdated technology, which slows down the money transfer process. In addition, there are several providers for clearing services which all use different standards. Goes without saying, this isn’t cost effective, neither for the service providers nor for the users.

P27 Nordic Payments Platform was established to deal with this challenge. Six Nordic banks are behind the project: Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, OP, SEB and Swedbank. The goal is to create a payment platform which enables cross-border real time money transfers in multiple currencies. As ISO20022 is fast becoming a global standard, it’s self-evident the project is based on the same.

P27 got in July 2021 EU approval for merger with the Swedish Bankgirot. By this, P27 can start actual work and as a first step batch payments in Swedish Kronas will be renewed. The fact that all Swedish mass transfers are handled by Bankgirot gives a good understanding of the scope of the renewal.

Evitec Life Payments is prepared for the new era for Nordic payments

Evitec Life Payments supports P27 Nordic Payments. Extending the PLP Payments solution based on existing SEPA and ISO20022 support was a straightforward process. In Sweden Länsförsäkringar is using PLP Payments for outpayments of pensions and insurance benefits, making the operational reliability of the system critical. It’s great to see P27 taking hold in Sweden and gradually taking over the market.

People story

Albert became a testing expert through a wide range of experience

Albert Volkov works as Senior Business Analyst at Evitec

Albert Volkov’s career path at Evitec can be counted in two ways. The first path lasted for 4 years and the second one has lasted for 10 years. The reason for this difference is that Albert left the company for a short period of time to try other challenges but returned in 2010.

-It has been a good choice. I have been able to work in different roles during the years; first as a project manager, then as an analyst. Also, our company’s financial position has strengthened on the way, says Albert.

Albert’s title is Senior Business Analyst, even if he nowadays works mostly with testing tasks.

-I have experience in many things, but testing is something I have focused on during the years. While testing, you actually need to consider a lot of things, like integrations to other systems, or the needed test data. Every move you make affects to something else, clarifies Albert.

Amount of testing depends on the project phase

While developing a new system, a lot of resources is allocated to testing. A tester team works with all the new features. When the system is in production the need for testing decreases. The thing to focus on are data issues that come up eventually.

Interesting part of testing is how minor changes have wide impact.

-One time we changed a thing in bookkeeping. It was basically a change of one line. For testers this meant two weeks work since it affected to several other areas, tells Albert.

What is the most difficult part in testing, then?

-Someone might think that testing is boring and time-consuming. But personally, I feel that investigating and then finding the cause of bug – that’s the interesting part. Understanding the cause-and-effect relationship is in key role, says Albert.

Remote work – the new normal

During the past 10 months Evitec’s employees have worked remote. This exceptional time has suited Albert very well.

– I am very happy with my work. I appreciate the balance between work and free time. I like the fact that I know things – that’s the benefit when you become older and experienced, summarizes Albert.

Albert Volkov works as Senior Business Analyst at Evitec