The Evolution of the Trustly Payment Method

In the era of online shopping and paid online services, Internet users are very concerned about the payment method they use. Most of them have cards and online bank accounts but don’t like sharing those details with random sites. That’s why the Trustly banking method became so popular. It enables secure online purchases with existing funds from an online bank account. There’s no need to insert a card or account number, and there’s no need to download apps and pre-register for any service.

Trustly has come a long way since it was founded back in 2008. Currently, the network reaches 525 million customers and supports 6,300 banks. It is one of the preferred payment methods for online casino gambling, sports betting, and shopping. How did it get this far?

What Is Trustly and How Does It Work?

Trustly is a secure payment service that transfers funds from your bank account without sharing any personal details. It provides services to TransferWise, PayPal, Facebook, eBay, Alibaba, and other reputable merchants. It’s especially valued at trustly casino sites, since gamblers get the anonymity and security they are after. Those who play casinos for real money need fast deposits and withdrawals without the need to provide card details over and over again. Trustly relies on the same type of encryption as banks, so you can use it to safely transfer any casino win to your account.

This is how the system works:

When you’re choosing a payment method for transferring funds to or from an online service, select Trustly.

You’ll be taken to the Trustly Banking website. There, you can choose your bank.

The system will enable you to log into your bank account.

When you get into your online banking account, you can complete the transaction.

Trustly History: The Beginnings

The company was launched in 2008 by 3 co-founders: Lukas Grattle, Joel Jakobsson, and Carl Wilson. They had an idea to provide an online payment method that wouldn’t require users to create any accounts. That’s how Trustly is different from eWallets. It also doesn’t require any credit or debit card, or a bank account to type on. Trustly only requires the user’s online banking ID and password.

Where did this idea come from? Credit and debit cards are outdated as online payment methods. Not many people remember the details, so they have to get the plastic card and type a long number over and over again when they want to pay online. Trustly came out as a solution that improves the debit payment experience.

The company immediately started signing contracts with online retailers. It completed its first investment round in 2009. A more advanced technical platform was soon launched. After that, expansions started happening. The main office in Sweden was reinforced with an office in Malta in 2010. With that addition, more than one million transactions were processed within a year. Malta’s government is recognized for supporting the online gambling industry. As soon as Trustly was introduced, it became one of the most lucrative casino life hacks. Bloggers started including it as a recommendation in their casino tips, so the new banking method was on its way to becoming the preferred choice for playing casino and sports bet placed online.

Trustly functions as a licensed Payment Institute that’s being supervised by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.

Trustly’s Evolution into the Preferred Payment Method

There were a few important moments that pushed Trustly towards intense growth:

In 2011, investment group Alfvén and Didrikson bought 25% of the company. This financial boost enabled greater technological advancements.

In 2014, the company started developing a strategic partnership with PayPal and Groupon. Initially, this agreement only covered Sweden and Denmark. From that point, PayPal users were able to directly transfer funds from their online bank to their eWallet with the Trustly e-payments solution. The partnership faced serious criticism in Poland, with different banks and websites pointing out that PayPal had a policy against revealing credentials to third parties. In Trustly’s defense, the company clearly outlined what details websites may access for identity verification and payment processing.

In 2016, Trustly made a big difference for every gamer, sports bettor, and casino player: the company launched the Pay N Play function. This innovation helps players to avoid lengthy registration procedures and withdrawal processing times, which used to be the greatest online casino disadvantages. Through the Pay N Play casino features, the operators identify and verify players during the depositing process. This doesn’t mean that casinos are avoiding KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements. The operator gets the needed details through Trustly, and the players get instant registrations, deposits, and withdrawals. Surveys show that casinos that offer Pay N Play have significantly higher retention rates for hazard players than comparable websites.

In 2018, Nordic Capital bought 70% of the company’s existing shares. Trustly got into that deal with an estimated value of €700 million.

In 2019, a merger with PayWithMyBank was revealed. With this, the reinvented brand was able to deliver transatlantic coverage for online banking payments. Both European and US now have an alternative to card payments.

In 2020, Trustly announced an expansion to Australia and Canada. With the company’s

entrance into the Asia-Pacific region, an important step towards global coverage was made.

In 2021, the company requested a valuation of nearly $9 billion with the intention to list on Nasdaq.

A Company Focused on Growth

Since it was founded in 2008 with only 3 people on the team, Trustly has grown into a multinational, multi-billion company with 500+ employees across Europe, Australia, North America, and Latin America. Its workforce includes over 50 nationalities, and the brand prides itself on its focus on diversity.

Trustly keeps working towards enabling a more effective global payments network that would make the use of cards online completely unnecessary. At the moment, Trustly is featured as a payment method by over 8,000 merchants across 30 markets. It reaches 525 million consumers on a global level. The brand stays true to its mission to simplify online banking payments for both consumers and merchants around the world.

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