Online loan negotiations praised by customers

OP-Pohjola Group offers more and more personalised online services. Customers have welcomed online negotiations. Instead of visiting the bank, banking and insurance services can be accessed from home or the workplace. The online customer service is offered by means of a video solution implemented by Elisa's subsidiary Videra.

OP-Pohjola Group began online negotiations with customers in late 2012. The pilot stage has been participated in by four cooperative banks around Finland, and this spring we are including even more banks.

Loan, insurance and investment negotiations can be conducted just as well online as face-to-face, as you not only hear and see the person you are talking to but you can also share material with each other.

"Online negotiation is viable option for face-to-face meetings or telephone conferences. Thanks to the video connection, service is more personal that can be provided over the phone. We want to offer the same high level of service throughout Finland. Online negotiations our banking and insurance services more accessible whether our customers live in the countryside or in the cities," says Senior Vice President Kai Koskela of OP-Pohjola Group.

"Thanks to a video connection, we can offer these services whenever its suits our customers best. Likewise, customer service representatives and experts can work anywhere they like, and we can therefore always offer the customer the best possible expert for any situation. OP-Pohjola Group is the first in the sector to come up with a modern service solution like this. Everything takes place in the online bank, which ensures the best possible information security. Innovations like this also pave the way for reform in public sector services," continues Pekka Haataja, who is in charge of Videra's major customers.

You can book an online negotiation appointment at op.fi.


For more information, please contact:
OP-Pohjola Group, Kai Koskela, Senior Vice President, tel. [phone] or email [e-mail].
Videra, Pekka Haataja, Vice President, tel. [phone], [e-mail]


OP-Pohjola Group is Finland's leading financial services group providing a unique range of banking, investment and insurance services. The Group's mission is to promote the sustainable prosperity, well-being and security of its owner-members, customers and operating regions through its local presence. Its objective is to offer the best and most versatile package of loyal customer benefits on the market. OP-Pohjola Group consists of some 200 member cooperative banks and the Group's central institution, OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative, with its subsidiaries and closely-related companies, the largest of which is the listed company Pohjola Bank plc.

Elisa is a telecommunications and ICT service company. Our online and ICT services provide Finns with experiences, and businesses with productivity. We serve approximately 2.2 million consumers, companies and public administration organisations. As the market leader in mobile subscriptions, we offer the most comprehensive and fast 3G network and 4G speeds in Finland. In 2012, our revenue was €1.55 billion and we employed 3,860 people. We offer international services in partnership with Vodafone and Telenor. For more details, go to www.elisa.fi.

Videra is leading company specialising in visual communication.  Videra's services include videoconferences, digital signage and video enabled customer service solutions as fully outsourced services. Videra operates globally and has over 10,000 delivered service sites in over 100 countries. Videra, established in 1993, employs over 100 people in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Russia. Since 2010 Videra has been a part of Elisa-corporation. For additional information, visit www.videra.com.

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Source: Pohjola Pankki Oyj via Thomson Reuters ONE

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