Nordea Lets Customers Pay Bills Via Messenger

Nordea, the Nordic financial services company, announced Thursday (Nov. 30) the first Nordic bank service via Facebook Messenger.

In a press release, the company said the service will be powered by Nets and will allow for payment of Norwegian bills via an electronic invoice inside of Facebook Messenger. With the fully automated service, users can make payments – anytime and anywhere – by initiating an online conversation with a Messenger chatbot.

“Paying bills has never been a fun task. Now, we are making it very easy for our customers to pay their bills via a platform that many of them are already active on,” said John Sætre, head of consumer market services for Nordea Norway.

According to Nordea, to participate in the secure payments process, customers enroll with their bank ID and then use the PIN they created for mobile banking. Customers can confirm, view or change the outstanding e-voices in Messenger.

“This is a new way for customers to pay, and if customers respond positively, it will be natural for us to develop this further,” added Sætre. “With this service, Nordea wants to make banking easier for you as a customer. Now, you can pay your e-invoice anytime and anywhere without leaving your favorite social media platform.”

Tom Scharning, senior vice president of Nets, said it’s important that its e-voicing service is available on all platforms, including Facebook Messenger. “We continually work to develop our solutions so they are available on the platforms where the consumers are,” he said.

Earlier this month, digital payments company PayPal has also launched the ability for customers to send invoices via Facebook Messenger. In a blog post, the company said the new PayPal chat extension allows sellers to create and send invoices directly within a Messenger conversation. The invoice will include the price and image, enabling the buyer to immediately pay it and complete the transaction.