OP Financial Group and Danske Bank have signed an agreement to merge their respective mobile wallets Pivo and MobilePay with Vipps, which is owned by a consortium of banks.

Pivo, MobilePay and Vipps will combine into a single mobile payment service.

The resulting combined company will be one of the largest mobile wallets in Europe. It will have a user base of 11 million consumers and more than 330,000 merchants across Finland, Denmark and Norway.

Banks behind Vipps will hold a 65% majority stake in the new company. Meanwhile, Danske Bank will own 25% and OP Financial Group will own 10%.

Merged mobile wallet

The merged platform will enable a variety of mobile wallet services such as online and store payments, and money transfers. The companies plan to invest in e-commerce and facilitate cross-border mobile payments in the future.

As per the agreement, Vipps will continue as the technology platform for product development. The companies will create a common technology platform.

Danske Bank head of Personal & Business Customers Glenn Söderholm said: “No partnership would be better than teaming up with Norwegian Vipps – it is the perfect match for MobilePay.

“At the same time, it is a great strength that Pivo, owned by Finland’s largest bank, OP, will also be part of the merger.

“We are proud to take part in creating a new and future-oriented fintech business in the Nordic region, and Danske Bank will continue to be a dedicated co-owner of the new business.”

The new company will have headquarters in Oslo, Norway with Vipps current CEO, Rune Garborg, as the new CEO.

Claus Bunkenborg, CEO of MobilePay, will be an executive board member of the merged company. Kjerstin Braathen, chair of Vipps and CEO of DNB, will act as chairman of the board of directors.

The merger is subject to the approval of the competition authorities and expected to occur this year or early next year. The deal will not involve any layoffs.