The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a directive requiring that digital services across the EU are accessible to people with disabilities. From June 28, 2025, businesses must comply or risk enforcement.
For B2C companies, this includes a critical touchpoint: invoices and customer communication.
"Ensuring accessibility is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a legal and customer experience necessity", says Teemu Petäjäniemi, Product Area Manager at Tieto.
Teemu Petäjäniemi, Product Area Manager at Tieto
For B2C companies, invoices are a core part of customer communication and now need to meet accessibility standards.
This includes:
- Structured formats like XML (e.g., Finvoice) that work with screen readers
- Multichannel delivery, including email, digital mailboxes, and banking portals
- Fallback options such as paper invoices - still compliant and accessible
- Onboarding flows that are intuitive and inclusive for all customers
In short, accessibility now applies to every step of how invoices are designed, delivered, and read.
Compliance in practice: the Nordic perspective
Countries like Finland and Sweden are leading implementation. While enforcement is national, it’s guided by shared principles. In Finland, e-invoices must comply with the Finvoice standard, SenderInfo messages are required to register invoice readiness, and technical requirements such as valid Finnish business IDs and structured EUR invoices must be met.
European Accessibility Act does not apply to the entire European Economic Area (EEA), only to all EU member states. However, even non-EU countries in EEA like Norway are aligning their legislation with the European Accessibility Act, demonstrating a broader regional commitment to harmonized compliance.
What should B2C billers do now regarding EEA?
If your company hasn’t started preparing, now’s the time. Key actions include:
- Reviewing your invoice formats and delivery channels
- Ensuring templates and archives are accessible by design
- Adapting onboarding flows and fallback methods
- Partner with service providers (such as Tietoevry) - ensure compliance without rebuilding from scratch
This is also a great opportunity to modernize invoice layouts, streamline communication flows, and build more inclusive experiences for all customers.
Conclusion: preparing for EAA compliance
Accessibility is not just about regulation - it’s about reaching every customer equally. The EAA raises the bar for digital communications. Meeting it can be a strategic advantage for B2C brands that act early.
