Turvamaksut.fi has entered into a partnership agreement with a well-known online marketplace, and the launch is scheduled for the upcoming weeks. The outlook in the market appears quite promising, as consumer peer-to-peer trading has been steadily increasing despite the risk of fraud, which can deter both sellers and buyers.

Thanks to Turvamaksut.fi payment intermediary service, consumers can engage in transactions with confidence, while online marketplaces benefit from assistance in meeting tax reporting requirements.

The growth trend in peer-to-peer financial transactions among consumers is expected to accelerate further as the popularity of eco-friendly choices increases. The challenging economic situation also adds to consumer interest in the circular economy. There is significant potential in peer-to-peer financial transactions among consumers, and the service was developed to address a clear need. This is evidenced by the fact that competitors have also entered the market.

Competitive advantage from internal development

Tuomas Hovi, the COO of Turvamaksut.fi, is confident in the success of the service in the market and lists great user-experience, competitive pricing, and payment processing speed as strengths.

"Unlike our competitors, we didn't adopt the service directly from an existing payment processor. Instead, we sought out suitable partners to handle different aspects of the service. This allows us to offer a fast, user-friendly, and cost-effective service to our customers. For example, we can transfer the payment to the seller on the same day the buyer approves the product, both on weekdays and weekends."

"Our revenue is based on commissions, and essentially, each individual transaction is profitable. As the volume grows, the profitability of each transaction also improves. Overall trading volumes are significant, so even a small share of this constitutes highly profitable business," Hovi continues.

"The service will soon be openly available. A well-known major online marketplace has signed a partnership agreement with us, and we have high expectations for this. We are focusing on acquiring new partners, and after the launch, the service will be freely available to consumers, whether trading on Facebook Marketplace or any hobbyist website."

Scalability of the service creates opportunities for large volumes

According to Hovi, the payment processing service is easily scalable beyond the borders of Finland.

"Our intention is to launch the service soon in Finland with our partners. After that, we will quickly expand to Sweden and Norway. We have obtained approval from the financial supervisory authority (FIN-FSA)  for our operating model, so launching the service in other countries requires fewer formalities."

Behind Turvamaksut.fi is a wealth of expertise ranging from coding to sales and business management. Tuomas Hovi emphasizes the significance of this in refining the service in the future, and the team will be expanded.

"The development of the service continues, and our team sees other opportunities for the service, such as tailored solutions for partners."

The trend of trading shifting towards platform services provides further opportunities for business growth. Regulation also requires reporting from trading platforms, as tax authorities demand the declaration of transactions. Turvamaksut.fi offers a ready-made solution to meet the needs of trading platforms.

For more information

Tuomas Hovi, COO, Safe Payment Group,  tuomas.hovi@safepaymentgroup.com

Johan Backas, chairperson of the board, Safe Payment Group, johan.backas@startuplions.fi