Trust

Finland is a very trusting country.  I've said before that people give their bank account number regularly (i.e.: you owe your friend 42.50� and don't have exact change) because that's how people transfer funds here.
No cheques in Finland!  That's so over 20 years ago.

Now that the old post has been brought up - here's a few more examples that I have experienced - on trust.

• I met a lady from the internet who was selling a baby back pack carrier that we need for our up-coming trip to Estonia, Paris and Canada (airlines are awful with strollers!)...She wanted 15� - I had a 20� bill because that's what the machine spits out....she said "I don't have change and have to get going...Do you have your cell phone?  Take down my account number and send me the money."  
• I leave V�in� outside our friend's homes when visiting (if he's still asleep) in his stroller and we just keep an ear out for when he cries.  LOTS of people put their kids outside (or on a balcony) to sleep - especially in cooler weather....I do this downtown too if I'm knitting or in a small shop with too narrow of an entrance to bring a stroller.
• My card was declined at the grocery store and thankfully I was with a friend (her dog is my dogs' mutual girlfriend) - she paid for me and I paid her back by the end of the day.
• I ordered something from a Finnish bead site called HelmiQ (in English or Finnish), which I've never done before and I had the option of paying 2,95� extra to receive the bill in the mail...or they sent me their company's banking info and I transfer the funds that way.  I opted for paying online and saving myself 2,95� - I ordered it April 12th and received my package this morning.  It takes 2-3 business days for the money to get to them electronically...but once again trust.
• Finns with vehicles have blue "parking" passes that they put on their dash boards and it has a "P" on it and a clock with adjustable time arms.  When you park somewhere that doesn't require a parking fee (they have meters where you pay then get a ticket stub to display on your dash board), but does have a time limit - you put the pass visibly on the dash board and put the time you parked.  I thought it was odd and it's "too easy to cheat the system" - and I asked my friend if someone could just go back to their car and change the clock forward....she confirmed that yes - lots of people do it.  If you're caught - you're stuck with a hefty ticket.
• V�in�'s Canadian passport came a couple days before departure to Canada back in October and we still haven't received his Finnish residence permit.  Why? Because we forgot to bring the passport to the police so they can make a copy of the passport and review it...he hasn't been deported yet! (I kid...no really he's sleeping on the couch!)  We received a letter reminding us to bring it to the Police station and that was that.

Now, ask yourself this...."Would you leave your kid outside to sleep (not in a yard but in a downtown area for example) or give your bank account number to a complete stranger, if they didn't have exact funds to pay you in cash?"  (This question is not for Finns - but probably those that are Canadian who read this via my Facebook page).