Pitching payments predictions: a spotlight on Swish

In the lead up to MoneyLIVE Nordic Banking, we had the privilege of catching up with Dan Axelsson, Product Manager – Payment Infrastructure at Swish. As Swish continues to pave the way for payment solutions in the Nordics, Dan is perfectly placed to give us an insight into the future of the payments landscape. 

Innovation hotspots: what now, where next? 

“I am genuinely excited about the potential of AI within payments,” states Dan. While the full promise of AI in the payments realm remains untapped, Dan highlights the progress in AI-driven fraud detection and anti-money laundering systems as a precursor to the transformation ahead. “At Swish, we’re continually exploring ways to bolster our system and infrastructure’s security,” he notes. The aspiration is that the advancements AI has made in fraud and AML sectors will echo within the broader payments arena. 

Swish in the spotlight 

As well as the payments landscape as a whole, we were really excited to hear about the exciting things in the pipeline for Swish – and according to Dan, there are some “big infrastructure initiatives” on the horizon. The first is migrating to TIPS platform for the settlement of Swish transactions, which when settled, will pave the way for new products, including recurring payments. Excitingly, Dan also reveals that Swish have a few new participating banks joining in the first half of 2024 – “So, when we see each other for Moneylive Nordics 2024 we will have a couple of new products, around five new participating banks and we’ll be performing the settlement of Swish transaction on the TIPS platform.” 

Swish recently released a report that revealed 70% of Gen Z customers choose to use self-checkouts over manned tills. When looking at the opportunities this statistic unlocks for payments innovation, Dan made it clear that the industry “needs to really listen and look at customer demands”, especially given that “we know that younger generations are the ones that are setting the expectations” for service. In light of this, Swish are launching a new Scan & Swish product this autumn that enables customers of the Swish app to scan items in-store, pay via Swish and leave without even having to use a checkout. “We did a very successful pilot this spring and hope we will see this in many stores around Sweden later this fall”, says Dan.  

Future forecasts 

Over the next five years, the role of digital wallets in the payments landscape is set to be a transformative one. Already Europe, and especially in the Nordics, boasts a range of successful wallets, with Swish, Vipps and Mobile pay in the front lines. “What we will see more in upcoming years”, predicts Dan, “are bigger service offerings for both consumers and businesses”, including both cross-border and cross-currency payments. “I also strongly believe that these digital wallets will not only focus on payments and payments related services. I think we will see more financial services beyond payments and tools for managing all day-to-day digital life.” 

It seems there’s much to get excited about in the payments and wallets space – not least, Dan’s keynote address at MoneyLIVE Nordic Banking this year – ‘Pushing the limits of payments innovation’. If you enjoyed Dan’s insights and want to hear more from him, as well as a whole session’s worth of speakers on ‘New Payments Innovation’, then head over to MoneyLIVE Nordic Banking 2023 and register your place now!