Trustly AB (publ), known as Trustly, is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

company founded in 2008 that specializes in

open banking In financial services, open banking allows for financial data to be shared between banks and third-party service providers through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs). Traditionally, banks have kept customer financial data withi ...

payment solutions. Trustly enables customers to conduct transactions directly from their bank accounts, offering an alternative to traditional card-based payment systems. The company claims its network supports 12,000 banks and connects with 650 million consumers globally. Trustly serves a variety of industries and is used by over 9,000 companies globally, including notable clients such as

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...

DraftKings DraftKings Inc. is an American gambling company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It offers sportsbook and daily fantasy sports (DFS) services. The company was originally launched in 2012 as a DFS provider, competing principally with the New Yor ...

, and

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

. In 2020, Trustly expanded operations to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, complementing its presence in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 2023, Trustly reported revenues of $265 million, a 14% increase from 2022, and processed $58 billion in transactions, reflecting the broader growth of open banking solutions.

History

The company was originally named Glue Finance and was founded in 2008 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. Trustly signed contracts with its first online retailers the same year. By 2010, the company opened its first international office in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and processed over one million transactions. Trustly introduced a second-generation platform in 2011, followed by a strategic investment from Alfvén & Didrikson, which acquired a 25% stake. In 2014, Trustly formed partnerships with

Groupon Groupon, Inc. is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in 13 countries. Based in Chicago, Groupon was launched there in November 2008, launching ...

and

while securing a €23 million investment from Bridgepoint Capital. In 2016, Trustly launched "Pay N Play," a payment solution designed to streamline online transactions in the gambling sector. By 2022, over 200 brands supported the solution. In 2019, Trustly merged with

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

–based PayWithMyBank, enabling global merchants to accept online banking payments across Europe and the U.S. Trustly has continued to expand its services through acquisitions, including Ecospend in 2022 and SlimPay in 2023.

Security

Trustly is a licensed payment institution authorized and supervised by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority in the EU and EEA, and by the

Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom. It operates independently of the UK Government and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financi ...

in the UK. In the U.S., Trustly complies with state-specific regulations. Trustly employs

two-factor authentication Multi-factor authentication (MFA; two-factor authentication, or 2FA) is an electronic authentication method in which a user is granted access to a website or Application software, application only after successfully presenting two or more distin ...

to enhance security during transactions.

Criticism

In 2013, a competing bank accused Trustly of accessing more customer data than necessary, including information about mutual funds and shareholdings, which allegedly compromised banking confidentiality. Similar concerns emerged in 2016 in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

when PayPal adopted Trustly’s services, with critics claiming this practice violated PayPal’s own policies. In 2018, the

Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA; or Fiva; or FI) is the Financial regulatory authority responsible for the regulation of financial services in Finland. Since 2014, it has also been Finland's national competent authority wi ...

ruled that Trustly’s screen-scraping practices were illegal. Trustly has maintained that its practices are governed by clear agreements and regulatory oversight.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trustly Financial services companies of Sweden Software companies of Sweden Companies based in Stockholm