More and more of Sonera’s customers are choosing the electronic bill

The electronic bill is a cost-effective, responsible option to the paper bill offered by Sonera to its customers. Nearly 40% of Sonera’s private broadband customers switched over to the electronic bill within a year after the paper bill became a fee-based service. Starting from October, paper bills sent to companies will also become subject to a charge.

Finland is a forerunner in electronic business invoicing in Europe. According to the Finnish Information Society Development Centre TIEKE, about 40 percent of all B-to-B invoices are sent to the recipient in electronic format. Each year, Sonera sends about 19 million invoices to its business and private customers, which makes it the largest sender of invoices in Finland. The number of customers using the electronic bill doubled in 2008. However, the percentage of electronic bills among business customers is only 27%. At present, some 11,000 of Sonera’s business customers receive their bills in electronic format, which adds up to about 46,000 electronic bills per month. “Each year, we send our business customers a stack of paper bills 2.2 miles high. We hope that more and more of our business customers will eventually join the forerunners and start using the electronic bill. Starting from 1 October 2009, we will charge €5 for paper bills sent to companies. Only mobile phone bills with nothing extra will remain free of charge,” explains Head of Invoicing Hannu O. Savolainen from Sonera. The central government has calculated that the processing of a single paper-format purchase invoice costs about €30, whereas the processing of an electronic invoice only costs about €9 (source: vivere.fi). “The electronic invoice makes it easier and more efficient to process invoices. This is why it is a good idea to change over to Sonera’s Electronic Invoice, e-Invoice, or Email Invoice all of which are secure payment channels Sonera does not charge for,” Savolainen says. TeliaSonera’s corporate responsibility efforts are based on the company’s values, ethical guidelines, and business focus areas. “Our services enable people and companies to communicate in an efficient, easy, and environmentally friendly way. Electronic invoicing both conforms to the principles of responsible business management and generates cost savings,” concludes CR Manager Siru Sihvonen from TeliaSonera. A report on climate change compiled by ETNO (European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association) and WWF says that if about 100,000 customers switched over to the electronic bill, this would cut carbon emissions by 10.94 tonnes per year. The calculations only include the effect from paper manufacturing and recycling but not transport, which would have resulted in even more reductions. _____________________________________________ For further information, journalists can contact: Head of Invoicing Hannu O. Savolainen, +358 40 3023312