Flexible legal support for launching a new service
The Finnish payments market is undergoing a transformation. Security, reliability and domestic infrastructure have become increasingly important considerations in payments, while users expect payment services to be easier and more seamless than ever.
Siirto Brand Oy is responding to this need with a Finnish account-to-account payment solution and a new type of e-invoicing service. For consumers, Siirto provides an effortless way to make payments and receive invoices without separate applications. For businesses, it offers a new and natural channel for engaging with customers at the moment of payment.
As Siirto prepared to launch its service, the company needed a legal partner that understood the day-to-day realities of a fintech company, worked closely with the business and could help build a strong foundation for growth. Folks became involved already before the launch, supporting Siirto through a model in which legal expertise is genuinely embedded in the company’s daily operations.
Legal expertise embedded in day-to-day business
The collaboration has been built around a dedicated lawyer who works closely as part of the Siirto team. Folks’ lawyer has regularly worked from Siirto’s office and participated in day-to-day discussions and decision-making. On other days, legal support has been available as needed. The arrangement is similar to a part-time interim legal counsel or secondment: Siirto has access to an in-house-style lawyer who understands its business, without having to build its own legal team. Whenever necessary, Siirto has also been able to use the entire Folks team – a breadth of expertise that hiring a single lawyer would rarely provide.
A key benefit of the collaboration is the overall perspective it provides. When a lawyer is involved in everyday discussions, legal support is not limited to reacting to individual questions. Instead, the lawyer acts as a strategic partner to management and the wider team: identifying needs early, helping assess different options and ensuring that solutions support the company’s long-term objectives.
“At Siirto, we are building a Finnish payment service for a rapidly evolving market. In this environment, we need a legal partner that understands both business and technology and can proactively take ownership of the bigger picture. Folks has been the right partner for this need.”
The collaboration has brought the best aspects of legal services directly into the heart of Siirto’s business. Legal questions are addressed at the right time and in a practical way, helping ensure that new business is built on a solid foundation. In this model, legal support is not a constraint on growth – it enables it.
Contracts and practices built for growth
Strong legal support has been a significant advantage for Siirto during the launch phase. Folks has been involved from the early stages, negotiating key agreements and developing processes that support regulatory compliance. Building a new payment and e-invoicing service requires trust, precision and the ability to move quickly in a rapidly changing environment. In the collaboration between Siirto and Folks, legal support has been as agile and precise as the business it serves.
Siirto Brand Oy develops and operates a Finnish payment and invoicing service that enables seamless payments directly through users’ own banking applications. With Siirto, users can transfer money in real time using a phone number, pay for online purchases and receive invoices without having to set up separate e-invoicing agreements. The Siirto service has more than one million registered users. The company is owned by OP Pohjola and Nordea.
Not every company needs its own legal team. Many companies do, however, need a lawyer who understands their business and can help find practical solutions when decisions need to be made. Folks’ outsourced legal department provides companies with ongoing legal support as an integrated part of their day-to-day operations, at a level tailored to their needs.
If your company is preparing to launch a new service or needs a lawyer to become part of its daily operations, we are happy to discuss what kind of collaboration would work best for you. Contact us, we're here to help!
Katri Aarnio
Counsel
+358 50 306 2031