The backup account system will be one of the various backup arrangements for making daily payments, bolstering the resilience of society. The system and other measures in place will extend, for example, to securing payment traffic between banks.
The backup account system will be part of a wider structure of preparedness on the part of the authorities to ensure that society is able to function in a situation of serious disruption or an emergency and that emergency supply and the stability of the financial markets are secured should such a situation occur. The system will help safeguard daily payments for customers of banks if there is a period of prolonged disruption. At the same time, banks that are unable to function properly will be able to centralise resources for purposes of recovery and to take remedial measures.
The backup account system will be a statutory arrangement consisting of both technical solutions and mechanisms of decision-making and cooperation. Different authorities will have their own role in securing daily payments. The backup account system will allow the customers of a bank that is inoperative to make and receive crucial daily payments during a time of serious disruption. Accounts and customer relations will remain as before, as the system will always be a temporary arrangement.
As a customer of a bank, it is always worth making sure that your contact details are up to date at the bank itself and in the Finnish Population Information System.
You can prepare for briefer periods of disruption with, for example, standby arrangements (small amounts of cash, more than one means of identification, and accounts with two different banks).