Public agencies and authorities in Finland will begin sending all official communications through the Suomi.fi portal, starting from Tuesday 14 April.
The change means that documents such as tax decisions, voting notifications, fines and healthcare appointment letters will be delivered electronically to users who have activated the service.
The reform applies to adults who use digital public services and strong electronic identification. Those who enable their Suomi.fi account will stop receiving paper mail from the authorities. Signing up is free of charge.
Currently, about 2.6 million people use the service, but an estimated two million people in Finland have yet to sign up.
Paper mail remains available
Finnish authorities, however, also stressed that traditional mail will not be discontinued entirely.
"If you never use the public authorities’ digital services or strong identification tools, you will see no change and continue to receive official mail on paper. You will not need to submit any notifications to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) or any other public authority," explained Annette Hotari, project manager at the agency.
It will also be possible to opt out of electronic messages and return to the hard copy. However, the preference is valid for one year at a time.
Authorities warn of possible scams
Officials issued an additional warning that the shift could be exploited by scammers, and lead to an increase in scam messages.
Fraudsters may attempt to impersonate authorities via text messages or messaging apps.
People are therefore advised not to click on suspicious links and instead to access services via the Suomi.fi app.
Aims for savings and smoother services
The Ministry of Finance argues this reduction in the use of paper mail could save tens of millions of euros each year.
The reform does not apply to minors or people who do not use digital services. Public services will also remain available by phone and in person.
