Digital Euro Pilots Take Off, Doomsday Banks & Finnish M&A | Nordic Fintech Highlights July 2026

July in the Nordics usually consists of out-of-office autoreplies and mosquito bites, but while we were all on vacation, the European Central Bank was busy clearing the table. Pål and Ville are back to the microphones alongside the ever-insightful Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm, to unpack it all.

Here is what we are dissecting in our Nordic Fintech Highlights season 14 return:

🇪🇺 The Digital Euro Pilot: The ECB has tapped 36 payment service providers for its retail pilot, targeting mid-2027. Ville gives us a highly enthusiastic breakdown of the aggressive 12-month timeline and offline capabilities, while Pål nods along.

🇩🇰 Denmark’s "Doomsday" Bank: The Danish National Bank is building a dormant emergency backup bank to protect against "prolonged AI-driven cyber attacks." We ask the hard question: if AI breaks out, what stops it from hacking the backup too?

🇫🇮 Finnish Bank Shopping: S-Bank is acquiring Oma Savings Bank for a cool €17.20 per share. We discuss how S-Bank is turning dormant supermarket loyalty cardholders into active banking customers—and accidentally acquiring corporate banking capabilities along the way.

📖 Shameless Plugs: In case you’ve somehow managed to mis it: Pål wrote a book! Rip Out the Core is out now. We are currently accepting petitions to force Janne to narrate the Finnish-accented audiobook version.

Grab your headphones and check out the full episode on your favorite podcast app or YouTube! Let us know in the comments: is a 12-month implementation window for the Digital Euro pilot a daydream or a reality?

Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne Salminen

Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming

- Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com

- Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com

- Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming

- Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/

- Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

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