International trade is daily life for Finnish companies
Internationalisation sounds like a big step, but in reality, it is very common. If your business imports or exports raw material, products or services across borders, your company is involved in international trade. Approximately a quarter of Finnish SMEs either import or export, as do practically all larger companies.
Services and digital products know no geographical borders. Many starting companies aim for markets outside Finland right away – Finnish skills are in demand internationally.
Services for export and import companies
OP provides you with all the services required by an export or import company. Your company’s payments will transfer in real time to Europe, and even within a few minutes to elsewhere in the world. If your company sends invoices and pays business partners in another currency than the euro, it may be time to open an OP currency account. In large-scale currency trade and security needs, we provide the newest digital tools that are suitable for businesses of all sizes.
Documentary credit, collectibles and bank guarantees are in use in many sectors, geographical areas and new trade relations to manage the country risk and secure the trade relationship. If your company transports goods or raw materials, you should also take care of cargo insurance.
At OP, we will be pleased to assist you in all these issues and many others related to international trade. With our specialists, you can find the easiest, most effective and safest ways to handle your company’s international invoicing, payments and trade.
Is your company becoming established outside Finland?
When your company’s international trade expands, you may consider establishing an office or subsidiary in another country. Opening a banking relationship for invoicing and payments is necessary if your company has delivery networks, salary payments or regulatory obligations in the local market, or a large number of consumers for whom it would be easier to use local payment methods to make domestic payments to your company. When opening a banking relationship in the destination country, you should be aware of the stricter KYC requirements (Know Your Customer).
Even if your company has banking relationships in several markets, you can still monitor and manage your company’s funds as a whole from Finland with our digital OP Corporate Hub service. In OP Corporate Hub, you can display Nordic and European bank accounts in the same view, use them for payments, retrieve bank statements from all foreign banks and repatriate funds from foreign banks to your OP account in Finland.
Where can I get support for internationalisation?
When you know how you want to expand your business outside the Finnish market, contact us at OP in good time. We can discuss together how your company can take care of payments most efficiently and easily, what kind of insurance your company will need, and what the best financing solutions are for your company’s international operations.
Chambers of Commerce around Finland help and encourage companies to become international. Chambers of Commerce organise training for export contracts, deliveries, payment methods and risk management, and they grant certificates of origin for trade in countries that do not have a free-trade agreement with the EU.
ELY Centres provide services for SMEs that aim to grow and become international. Companies starting export activities can have export and internationalisation counselling, financing advice and guidance for different information sources, partner services and internationalisation events.
Business Finland also has many ways to help with international growth and occupying new markets.