Mobile payment services rose to the top in reputation across all Nordic countries

Reputation and Trust Analytics' Financial Sector Reputation&Trust 2025 study examined the reputations of a total of 103 companies in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. In all four countries, mobile payment services received the best reputation scores.

In Finland and Denmark, MobilePay was rated best, while in Norway, it was Vipps. In Sweden, the country's own payment service, Swish, rose to the top as the most reputable.

Denmark-founded MobilePay and Norwegian-origin Vipps merged in 2022, and in 2024, they combined their services onto the same platform.

"Nordic people clearly value the ease of payment that these services offer. Payment services received higher ratings in all four countries than traditional banks or insurance sector operators," says Harri Leinikka, CEO of Reputation and Trust Analytics.

The highest reputation score was Vipps in Norway, at 4.13. MobilePay's scores in Finland and Denmark were 3.86 and 3.83, respectively. Swish received a reputation score of 3.78 in Sweden.

"Norwegians clearly value Vipps the most. In Sweden, however, Vipps falls behind Sweden’s own Swish service; Vipps' reputation in the country is at a moderate level," Leinikka notes.

In the Reputation&Trust model, each organization is assigned a reputation score on a scale of 1–5. An organization's reputation is at an excellent level if its reputation score is at least 4. The reputation is at a good level if the score is between 3.50 and 3.99.

Denmark has the strongest central bank reputation in the Nordic region

When examining the results from all four countries, it can be seen that among local central banks, Danmarks Nationalbank receives the best reputation score, 3.72. Norges Bank's reputation score of 3.58 is also good.

The Bank of Finland's reputation score of 3.37 and Sveriges Riksbank's 3.26 are at moderate level.

"In our Nordic comparison, Danish and Norwegian citizens trust their central banks significantly more than their Finnish and Swedish counterparts. The Danish central bank was the only one in the group to receive excellent ratings for leadership. However, the biggest differences emerge from how citizens perceive their central bank's success in its role", Leinikka states.

The most reputable companies in the Nordics

Swedbank records the strongest improvement in Sweden 

In the Swedish banking sector, niche banks are losing ground in reputation, while several traditional major banks are strengthening their positions after a couple of challenging years.

Of the major banks, Swedbank records the strongest improvement in the industry, with gains across all reputation dimensions and a marked increase in stakeholder support.

The bank’s reputation rises from 2.95 to 3.24 on the five-point scale – a notable increase of 0.29 points. The improvement spans all analyzed reputation dimensions and indicates a broadly strengthened trust capital.

Swedbank demonstrates that an improved reputation can quickly translate into increased stakeholder support. In a sector where competition for customer trust is decisive, restored trust capital can create clear commercial advantages.

“When the increase is significantly larger than that of other players in the industry, it strongly suggests that the bank is strengthening its competitive position. Such a clear shift increases the likelihood of gaining market share”, says Alexander Widén, Senior Advisor at Reputation and Trust Analytics.

The overall picture for the Swedish banking sector is more cautious. This year’s aggregated reputation score amounts to 3.01 on a five-point scale, compared to 3.03 last year. The sector performs strongest in Financial Performance and Workplace, whereas the most pronounced areas for development are found in Governance and Responsibility.

“When stakeholder support declines, it is rarely about product development. It is about responsibility, clarity, and trust in governance matters. These perceptions directly influence people’s willingness to choose, recommend, or defend an actor”, says Widén.

The banking sector’s reputation structure in Sweden

How we conducted the research

The goal of the Financial Sector Reputation&Trust 2025 research was to examine the reputation of companies operating in the Nordic countries and the general reputation of the sector among citizens. Data collection was carried out through an electronic survey in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark from 21.11. to 31.12.2025.

Organizations were evaluated using Reputation and Trust Analytics' Reputation&Trust research model, where an organization's reputation score is formed as an average of eight different areas. The areas are corporate governance, finance, management, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and responsibility. The study used a five-point rating scale (1–5).

A total of 12 305 people from Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark participated in the study. The target group in each country consisted of citizens aged 15–65 nationwide (in Finland excluding Åland). The sample was weighted to represent each country’s population by gender, age, and region of residence.