In line with the Finnish government's program under Prime Minister Orpo, Finland will gradually shift toward prioritizing digital services as the main channel for interactions with authorities. Legislation is being amended to establish digital communication as the primary method of official correspondence.
Additionally, the government program includes exploring cost-effective options to enable official messages to be sent via private digital mail services. The drafting of related legislation is currently underway.
One proposed model envisions developing digital official communication within an open ecosystem. This approach would allow private providers to deliver official messages to citizens through their own digital mail services. The Federation of Finnish Enterprises (Palta), Posti Group, and Kivra Oy support this model, viewing it as a logical step toward more efficient and user-friendly electronic communication.
In Sweden and Denmark, for instance, private sector involvement has accelerated the digitization of official communications, cutting costs and enhancing service quality. An open ecosystem allows citizens to select the digital mail service that best suits their needs, combining both public and private sector messages.
Creating an open ecosystem requires initial investments in technical development, but its long-term benefits are substantial. The competition and ongoing development fostered by private providers enhance public sector operations and improve the citizen experience. Collaboration with the private sector would likely facilitate new value-added services alongside digital mail. Developing such services is not fundamentally the role of the state.
An alternative proposal suggests the state should oversee all digital official communications via the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's Suomi.fi messaging service. However, this approach raises concerns about competitive neutrality, as private sector providers like Posti’s OmaPosti and Kivra’s digital mail applications are already established in this space. Additionally, other players might enter the market if the open ecosystem model is adopted. A state-managed solution alone could slow digitization, potentially resulting in lost savings for public finances.
Among current market players, Posti Group has already invested €20 million in developing the OmaPosti service and plans to invest an additional €20–30 million over the next 4–5 years. Swedish-based Kivra has invested approximately €55 million in its service over the past five years and will continue active development in response to market demands.
“The state must lead the ecosystem, but private sector participation brings the competition, innovation, and service development that a purely public solution cannot provide,” says Tatu Rauhamäki, Director, Industrial Policy at Palta.