Nordic banks plan counter attack

Digital pay: MobilePay, Danske’s digital-pay subsidiary, is urging Nordic banks to form a single payments platform to fend off global challengers like Apply Pay and Samsung Pay, seen here.

COPENHAGEN: About 100 years ago, Nordic countries shared a currency. Danske Bank A/S wants them to try again, this time on the digital front.

MobilePay, Danske’s digital-pay subsidiary, is urging Nordic banks to form a single payments platform to fend off global challengers like Apply Pay and Samsung Pay. The push comes as Apple Pay prepares to go live in Denmark, Sweden and Finland by the end of this year. (Samsung Pay recently arrived in the region, and Alipay earlier this month signed agreements to make its payment platform available in the Nordics to Chinese tourists.)