The strike will limit the opening hours of OP cooperative bank branches and customer service provided by OP and Pohjola Insurance on Thursday, 1 February 2024.
- Many branches will be closed on the strike day.
- Customer Service for personal banking customers at 0100 0500 and Customer Service for corporate banking customers at 0100 05151 will be closed on Thursday, 1 February.
- Card Deactivation Service at 0100 0555 will be available normally on the strike day.
- Payment services, agreements and service user help for large corporations at 010 252 7700 will be open from 8.00 to 16.00. The service may be busy and the waiting and response times may be longer than usual.
- Pohjola Insurance's customer and claims services for personal and corporate customers at 0303 0303 is available Mon–Fri 8–17. However, the service may be busy and some service selections are closed.
- The telephone service related to OP Life Insurance will be closed.
Despite the strike, we aim to ensure that the op.fi service, OP-mobile and ATMs operate normally.
If you have booked an appointment for a meeting at branch or by phone for Thursday, 1 February, we advise you to move it to another day. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to you by the strike.
Questions and answers about the strike in the financial and insurance sectors on 1 February 2024
Will OP cooperative bank branches be open?
The majority of our branches will be closed. You can check your OP cooperative bank’s opening hours on the bank’s op.fi website. OP cooperative banks will contact those customers that have booked appointments for the strike day and make arrangements personally. If the branches are closed, it will be impossible to withdraw or deposit cash or pay bills at the branches. Nor can other orders be executed at OP cooperative bank branches.
Will wages/salaries, pension benefits or other KELA benefits be paid to my account as usual?
Wages and salaries, pension benefits, and other benefits will be paid to accounts as usual. However, pensions and other benefits cannot be withdrawn in cash at the branches during the work stoppage if the branch is closed. If services were subject to disruptions, there could be delays in correcting them.
Where can I get cash?
ATMs will function as normal, but individual ATMs may be subject to malfunctions. It is also possible to withdraw cash with an OP card from places such as K-Group grocery stores, Neste service stations, Tokmanni stores and R-kiosks.
Will the online bank and mobile services function?
The digital services for both corporate and personal customers, as well as OP-mobile, will function as normal during the possible strike. However, the service may be busy especially before the strike, and there may be delays in correcting possible disruptions.
Can payment cards be used to pay for purchases during a strike? How about abroad?
As a rule, payment cards will function as normal in Finland and abroad during the possible strike. However, the service may be busy especially before the strike, and there may be delays in correcting possible disruptions.
Will corporate payment services function as usual?
Electronic payment services for companies will function as usual.
Other things to consider during the strike
Securities Services
An industrial action will have no effect on stock exchange operations. Bank branches will not be available for executing orders. There may be delays in processing orders made online on our website, as well as settlement operations.
E-invoicing Service
E-invoice files sent by companies to the bank will be transferred to customers as normal.
International payments
We will aim to transmit payments abroad and from abroad, but there may be delays in the processing of orders.
Payment of wages/salaries and pension benefits
Wages/salaries, pension benefits and other benefits will be paid to their recipients on the payment date. Employers, pension insurance companies and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA) will separately inform of any exceptions.
Payment Envelope Service
Due to the strike in the postal service, there will be delays in delivering payment envelopes. This may cause a delay of several days in the payment of bills.
Bank loans
Loan applications will not be processed during the strike.
Home sales
Home sales transactions will be impossible at the branches of OP cooperative banks if they are closed. If you are planning to sell or buy a home during the strike, you should do it before or after the strike. OP cooperative banks will contact those customers who have booked appointments for these days to agree a new date. There may also be delays in the transfer of the transaction price from one bank group to another.
Telephone service, personal and corporate customers
The customer service for personal banking customers at 0100 0500 will be closed. Deactivation and security services related to cards and digital IDs, as well as service numbers open 24/7, will be open as usual.
The customer service for corporate banking customers at 0100 05151 will be closed. The service at 010 252 7700 (Payment services, agreements and service user help for large corporations) will be open from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm. The service may be busy and experience a longer queueing and response time than usual. In the chat service, Opotti will serve personal and corporate customers 24/7.
Balance and interest certificates
Delays may occur in customers’ requests for the delivery of balance and interest certificates.
Mutual funds
Orders cannot be executed at OP cooperative bank branches if they are closed. In other channels, subscription and redemption orders will be executed as usual. Fund valuation will function as usual.
Deactivation Services
Card Deactivation Service will be available as usual. Customers should promptly report their lost or stolen card to the Deactivation Service at 0100 0555 (open 24/7). However, the service may be busy.
Cash services at bank branches
Cash cannot be withdrawn or deposited at the branches if they are closed.
Identification services
The Tupas identification service used in online services will work as usual, but its performance may differ between banks.
Insurance policies
Some of the phone lines of Pohjola Insurance’s customer service for personal and corporate customers at 03030303 will be closed, so the services may be busy.
Some of the phone lines of Pohjola’s Claims Settlement at 0303 0303 will be closed, so the service may be busy. In the event of loss or damage, go to vahinkoapu.op.fi for instructions on how to file a claim.
The phone lines related to OP Life Insurance will be closed.
We will aim to debit any insurance premiums in direct debit on their due dates, provided that there are sufficient funds in the account. We will aim to debit any insurance premiums entered by customers online in advance on their due dates, provided that there are sufficient funds in the account.
If the insurance falls due on a day during the industrial action, and the premium cannot be paid at a branch, we will not terminate the insurance policy because of this.
Additional information for corporate customers
Documentary payments
We will aim to process documentary payments despite any industrial action. However, the service may be busy especially before the strike, and there may be delays in correcting possible disruptions.
Express/urgent transfers
OP cooperative bank branches will be unable to process express/urgent transfers. Express/urgent transfers can be made electronically in the Web Service channel or through Cash Management. However, the service may be busy, and there may be delays in correcting possible disruptions.
Capital Market Services
OP Corporate Bank will be able to operate normally in international capital markets. The strike may lead to delays in confirmation, clearing, custody management and payments related to currency, money market, bond, equity and derivative transactions.
Corporate cash services
Cash services will function as normal for those companies whose small change is delivered directly to the company’s office and whose daily receipts settlements are also picked up from the company’s office. Daily receipts settlements will be counted normally if the company uses the night depository services of Avarn or Loomis. It will be impossible to pick up ordered small change from branches during the strike if the branch is closed. Services for cash handling will not be available at OP cooperative bank branches during the strike because they will mostly be closed.