Trustly completes acquisition of Ecospend
Swedish payments platform Trustly has completed its acquisition of UK-based firm Ecospend, following Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approval.
The combined entity will be the leading open banking payments company in the UK, Trustly said.
Trustly provides open banking-backed payments, linking merchants with consumers directly from their online banking accounts. In 2021 it processed over $28bn (£22.7bn) in transaction volume across the world.
In 2018, it partnered with Mintos to offer the peer-to-peer lending marketplace’s customers the option to transfer funds in real-time from bank accounts across Europe.
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Ecospend is an FCA-authorised open finance technology platform provider which facilitates payments services and data services such as affordability and identity verification solutions.
In 2020, Ecospend won one of the largest ever open banking contracts, with HMRC. Other clients include ITV and Anglian Water.
Trustly said that the UK is “a core growth market” for the firm and that Ecospend’s payment and data services, coupled with full UK bank connectivity, make it a strategic fit with Trustly’s collection capabilities and cross-border reach.
“The combined entity is well-positioned to deliver a compelling product in the UK, accelerating its expansion in the market, as well as in the rest of Europe,” Trustly said.
The planned acquisition was first announced in May 2022.
“We are very excited that we have now officially closed the acquisition,” said Johan Tjärnberg, group chief executive of Trustly.
“This is an important milestone and is fully in line with Trustly’s ambitious target to be the game-changing market leader in the UK. We can’t wait to continue our expansion journey as a collective team, bringing best-in-class open banking solutions to both consumers and merchants.”
James Hickman, chief commercial officer at Ecospend, added: “The UK is the largest digital payments market in Europe and represents a huge opportunity for us. We have seen an incredible appetite from both consumers and businesses to embrace open banking and the simple and secure payments that it enables. Trustly and Ecospend will be able to excel in this space with the most comprehensive and compelling solution on the market.”