Data Management

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Of many things about Finland, one of them which impress me most is their efficient data management. Full details of each and every person, citizen or temporary resident like me, are maintained in a centralized location.

About phone numbers, here they are portable. One can change the service provider and still keep the number and there is a directory enquiry for the cell phone number as well. I am not sure but I think your phone number is updated at the ‘maistraatti’ (town manager’s office kind of) as well. I experienced this twice.

Last summer, my ADSL connection went down and I filed the complaint; they said that there was some major problem and the broadband connection for whole of the town as down. Next day around evening, I got a call on my cell phone! This was strange because I had never given my cell phone number to the service provider. The time I had applied for broadband I didn’t have cell phone; it takes around two weeks to get the phone connection. The next incident happened recently, a day before I was going to Stockholm. I needed Swedish Kroner, so I went to my local bank to get the forex. I asked for 400 Kroner and when the receipt came there was some extra charge of 3.5 Euros, I asked the teller but she was not able to speak English, so I came back. In office my colleagues told me that it was the commission for forex, which they should not have deducted as I had my account there. I decided to take my chance and called the bank on phone and explained the situation, they asked me to come back and the charge will be reversed. I was a bit busy that day and 3.5 Euros was not that amount to risk a walk in the shivering winter, so I forgot it. Around 4 in the evening I got call from bank, again on cell phone! , like Internet I had not given my cell phone number at the time of opening the bank account. So where are these people pulling my phone number?

The other rule in Finland is that if you are changing your address, then you need to inform at one place, either at post office or at the maistraatti. They will update your information and all other places like banks, Phone Company etc will get the new address, you don’t need to do anything(this makes me think that does the town manager has record of my bank account as well?). I guess all this information is maintained along with your social security number. You can even search for your name online in the population register, all this while at no time your privacy being compromised.

In Finland the traffic fine is according to your annual income, so whenever you get a ticket, the police pull out your income data from the tax office and decide your fine.

It might be easy to maintain the data as population of Finland is only 5.2 million, but it helps in great way to keep other process streamlined and efficient.