A practical guide for renters with maksuhäiriömerkintä or weak luottotiedot — and how PSD2-verified payment history from your Finnish bank can replace a traditional credit check.
When you apply for a vuokra-asunto in Helsinki, Tampere, Turku or anywhere else in Finland, most private landlords and agencies (kiinteistönvälittäjät) run a luottotietojen tarkistus through Suomen Asiakastieto or Bisnode. A maksuhäiriömerkintä — even a small old one — is the single most common reason an application is rejected.
The frustrating part: a credit record reflects the past. It says nothing about whether you have paid your current rent on time for the last 12 or 24 months. That is exactly the gap Maja was built to close.
When we talk to landlords in Finland, the real question behind the credit check is simple: "Will this person pay rent on time, every month?" A credit report is a proxy for that question. A verified payment history answers it directly.
PSD2 is the EU open banking regulation that lets you securely share read-only access to your bank transactions with services you choose. Maja uses this to:
The landlord sees your last 3 months for free, and can purchase 6, 12, or 24 months of extended history. They never see your full bank statement, balance, or unrelated transactions — only the rent payments themselves.
Maja cannot move money. PSD2 access is strictly read-only.
OP, Nordea, S-Pankki, Danske and the rest — directly through your bank's login.
Landlords trust the data because it comes from the bank, not from you.
If your rent is paid partly or fully by Kela's asumistuki or toimeentulotuki, those payments still show up in your bank account as incoming and outgoing transactions. Maja's verified history shows the rent reached the landlord on time — which is what the next landlord cares about — regardless of the funding source.
No. A merkintä is removed by Suomen Asiakastieto on the schedule set by law (typically 2–4 years depending on type, once the debt is settled). What Maja does is give you a parallel, positive record of reliability that landlords can weigh alongside — or instead of — the credit check.
Yes — Maja is completely free for renters. Landlords pay only if they want to see more than 3 months of history.
No. The landlord only sees identified rent payments — never your balance, salary, or other transactions.
Maja can only verify what flows through your bank account. If you have paid rent in cash, ask your previous landlord for a written reference instead.
Connect your Finnish bank in a few minutes and generate a verified rent payment profile you can share with any landlord.
Company: Maja App Oy, Business ID 3633958-3, Finland. Questions? Email hello@maja-app.com