Finland and Germany show how Peppol bridges cross-border e-invoicing gaps
Finland and Germany are accelerating Peppol adoption for cross-border trade despite different domestic e-invoicing histories. Finland's 60.6% annual Peppol growth and Germany's steady expansion show the network is becoming the standard for international invoicing.
Finland and Germany demonstrate how Peppol solves the cross-border e-invoicing challenge. Finland, with 25 years of domestic e-invoicing experience, is rapidly adopting Peppol after establishing its Authority in 2023. Germany, which chose Peppol over a national solution, is driving growth through VAT reporting mandates and the Growth Opportunities Act.
Finland and Germany are accelerating Peppol adoption for cross-border e-invoicing, despite taking very different paths to reach the same destination.
Trade between the countries is substantial
Germany is one of Finland’s largest trading partners. According to Finnish Customs statistics, the two countries exchange significant volumes of goods. In November 2025, Finland’s largest imports from Germany included vehicles, industrial machinery, nonferrous metals, and pharmaceutical products. Finland exports vehicles, nonferrous metals, paper, steel, and electrical machinery to Germany.
Yet Peppol transaction volumes between the two countries do not yet reflect the scale of physical trade. Transactions sent from Germany to Finland are higher than those sent in the reverse direction. Starting in Q3 2025, a slight increase became visible. The gap suggests significant room for growth.
Finland: long domestic history, new to Peppol
Finland has more than 25 years of e-invoicing experience. Today, more than 90 percent of all invoices are electronic, totalling 325 million e-invoices per year across B2G, B2B, and B2C transactions. More than 370,000 companies have registered their e-invoicing capabilities in the national registry.
The vast majority of Finnish e-invoices use domestic formats: Finvoice and TEAPPSXML. Both are EN16931 compatible. The system works well domestically, but creates a barrier for foreign trading partners who do not know which address to send invoices to.
Finland established its Peppol Authority only in 2023. Just 13,000 Finnish end users have registered Peppol capabilities in the Peppol Directory, generating 780,000 transactions per year. This gap between national and Peppol adoption is striking.
However, the outlook is stronger than the numbers suggest. Peppol transactions in Finland grew by 60.6 percent last year. Most Finnish companies already operate e-invoicing systems; they simply have not activated Peppol because cross-border trade has traditionally relied on PDF invoices. Most Finnish national e-invoicing service providers are also Peppol service providers, so the technical switch is straightforward. National formats convert easily to Peppol invoices and back.
Germany: chose Peppol over a national solution
Germany, with a population 15 times larger than Finland and approximately 3.5 million companies, took a different route. The country developed XRechnung, a national EN16931-compliant XML format for B2G communication, more than 10 years ago. XRechnung has gained widespread adoption in recent years and is increasingly used in B2B settings.
When harmonizing the transport layer for invoices, Germany chose Peppol over a national solution. The decision reflected Peppol’s cross-border perspective and its focus on the entire procurement process, not just the invoice itself.
The Peppol network has grown steadily in Germany since 2018, with particular acceleration over the past two years. Two drivers are clear: European VAT reporting mandates require all companies to exchange invoices in a defined, structured format, and Germany’s Growth Opportunities Act calls for ambitious implementation in some areas.
Cultural resistance remains. Many business owners and trade representatives find the shift from paper to structured electronic invoices difficult. Concerns about government surveillance and loss of control persist. Yet these concerns must not block digitalisation.
In Germany, Peppol is now widely used and well known. For cross-border trade, the Peppol network requires virtually no additional national requirements. Domestically, XRechnung continues to play an important role. For cross-border exchanges, companies use Peppol BIS Billing.
What comes next
Both countries now have the infrastructure for efficient, future-proof cross-border data exchange. Hannu Kivinen, Lead Specialist at the Peppol Authority of Finland, and Beate Schulte, who has led the Peppol Authority Germany since 2018, will present on Peppol adoption at Peppol Day Finland 2026 on 21 April 2026. Schulte will be joined by Dr. Lars Rölker-Denker, Group Manager at the Ministry of Finance Bremen’s Coordination Office for IT Standards (KoSIT). The conference will be held in English.