According to a recent survey, Finns find the current state of official electronic communication too scattered across various services. Almost everyone expressed the need for a single service to compile messages, invoices, and documents.
The survey, conducted by research company Norstati on behalf of Posti, received responses from 2,520 individuals during the spring of 2024. The sample was weighted to represent the Finnish working-age population.
“Digital communication will see a significant increase in the coming years. We wanted to understand how Finns prefer to receive electronic messages,” says Anna Storm, Posti’s Vice President, Sustainability and Stakeholder Relations. "The study painted a clear picture: the current situation is fragmented, and Finns are in need of a single, easy-to-use service. Domestic actors, in particular, are trusted.”
OmaPosti is the Most Used Digital Mailbox – All Messages Desired in One Service
When it comes to receiving official messages and letters, email (78%) remains the most commonly used channel. OmaPosti (58%), Suomi.fi (54%), and SMS (52%) follow closely. Other options, such as applications from different providers, are used significantly less frequently.
More than half (54%) of the respondents agreed that communication and documentation related to the management of official affairs are too scattered across different services. Only a fifth (19%) of respondents disagreed.
When asked about future needs, almost all respondents (89%) considered it important for digital messages and notifications related to official matters to be consolidated in one place. The receipt of invoices (86%) and storage of digital documents (91%) were also desired in one location.
“The responses indicate that private digital mailboxes, such as OmaPosti, provide a user-friendly platform for digital official communications. We hope this will be considered in the legislation currently being prepared,” says Storm.
Data Security is Important, Domestic Actors are Trusted
Data security is viewed as a crucial factor in services. Four out of five respondents (84%) considered it important to have control over how and what their data is used for.
A majority (63%) of respondents expressed trust in domestic, well-known actors not misusing their data. However, every sixth respondent (16%) disagreed with this statement.
OmaPosti is used by the majority (84%) of the working-age population. Almost everyone (92%) among the younger users utilizes the service. The service is primarily used for tracking parcels (75%), but already more than half of the users (60%) use OmaPosti for receiving letters and invoices.
“We have been developing OmaPosti as an electronic mailbox for several years, which is reflected in both its usage frequency and reliability. OmaPosti already has 2.8 million registered users,” Storm concludes.