News and insights

Major migration programs linked to Bankgirot’s transformation are reshaping Sweden’s entire payments landscape. They are projects that will transform payments, customer experiences, and banking operations.

Swedish banks are entering an intensive testing phase in the SEK Batch transformation, and by April 14, all banks must be able to receive account-to-account batch payments in the ISO 20022 format. We met with Senior Consultant, and Partner, Mikael Hjorth to discuss the preparation to date, how to succeed with the testing, and why banks should already be planning their launch.

With over two decades of experience in the financial industry, Daniel Amsenius has become the link between banks’ IT and business. At 421, he helps our clients navigate complex transformation projects, bringing together both different departments and wills.

The Swedish Payments industry is undergoing its biggest transformation in over fifty years. With the introduction of ISO 20022, new standards are being set for instant payments, high-value transactions, and Bankgirot’s infrastructure. Banks are forced to adapt, and a vital guide through this change is Gustav Dahlström, Manager at 421, who has played a key role in several of Sweden’s largest migration projects.

As part of a major transformation in Sweden’s financial infrastructure, 421 supported a leading Swedish bank through the migration of RIX RTGS to ISO20022— the real-time gross settlement system managed by the Riksbank. We sat down with a team member from 421 to reflect on the experience and share key takeaways from this landmark project.

Last week, five of our consultants visited the annual event NextGen Nordics in Stockholm, hosted by FinExtra. The event brings together Nordic stakeholders within the Payments landscape – from banks and authorities to PSPs and FinTech companies. Some of the included themes were VoP/CoP, DORA, Open Finance, and regulation vs. innovation. In this article, we want to highlight our key takeaways from the events and what we believe will be important moving forward.

In our previous article, “Fraud in the Modern Payment Landscape,” we discussed how fraud has become a structural challenge in the payment ecosystem. Faster and more seamless payments leave opportunities for fraudsters to exploit gaps in the system. One major threat is Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud. Since 2020, cases have sharply risen where victims are manipulated into executing fraudulent payments. Unlike credential theft, this bypasses many traditional controls, such as multi-factor authentication.

The rapid digitalization of payments has revolutionized money transfers, offering speed, convenience, and accessibility. However, as traditional transactions shift closer toward real-time capabilities, fraudsters are adapting just as quickly—exploiting new vulnerabilities to sustain illegal activities. Payment fraud has evolved into a critical threat, not just for consumers, but for the stability of the financial ecosystem. In Sweden alone, reports from the Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) indicated that payment fraud nearly tripled between mid-2020 and mid-2023, emphasizing the importance of strong fraud prevention. This whitepaper explores the evolving nature of fraud in the modern payment landscape, its broader impact, and the necessary adaptations within the industry to mitigate these risks.

We sat down with our Managing Partner Richard Lindblom and Partner Niclas Lindblom to discuss the key developments shaping the payments industry in 2025. Here’s what we’ve gathered.