Comparison · Updated November 2, 2026
Trustly vs TrueLayer (UK)
Trustly
B-
Trustly is a Swedish open-banking payments company, launched in Stockholm in 2008, that moves money directly from a shopper's bank account to a merchant's — bypassing the card networks entirely. It is, on its own account, the largest pay-by-bank provider in the world by volume — a ranking no independent source confirms: its full year 2025 results report processed volume up 17.6% to SEK 1,059.0 billion, the first year it has carried more than $100 billion in total payment value, and it passed 120 million users in April 2026. Revenue, however, fell 12% on a constant-currency basis to SEK 2,427.7 million and it made a SEK 565.0 million loss after tax, a year into a 24-month transformation programme. It is regulated in Sweden and the UK, and in February 2022 the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority issued it a warning and a SEK 130 million fine for serious anti-money-laundering failings. It publishes no merchant pricing.
TrueLayer
B-
TrueLayer is a London open banking company that sells Pay by Bank: customers pay straight from their bank account through their banking app instead of using a card. Francesco Simoneschi and Luca Martinetti founded it in 2016. It is an authorised electronic money institution with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 901096), and its Irish subsidiary is a Central Bank of Ireland payment institution that serves the EEA. As of October 2026 the company says it is live in 22 countries, has more than 30 million users and handles over $150 billion a year in payment volume. Its products are one-off bank payments, instant payouts and refunds, recurring payments by variable recurring payment (VRP) or Direct Debit mandate (sold as Bank on File), identity data at sign-up (Signup+) and account data. Its named customers include large merchants such as eBay, Ryanair, Just Eat and Bet365. TrueLayer publishes no prices. Rates are quoted per account, and for merchants using a TrueLayer merchant account its fees come out of that balance each day. One-off bank payments have no card-style chargebacks, which helps merchants and gives customers less recourse; Direct Debit payments are the exception, because they carry the Direct Debit Guarantee. TrueLayer completed its purchase of Zimpler in the Nordics in March 2026 and announced the acquisition of in3 in the Netherlands in May 2026. Its Trustpilot score is poor, but most reviews come from consumers paying through TrueLayer rather than from merchants.
VS
Overview
We compare the two for a UK business that wants to take Pay by Bank payments from customers' bank accounts, using each company's own website, developer documentation, legal terms and the UK, Swedish and Irish regulators' registers as read on 2 November 2026. The UK is the one market where both sell the same products under their own UK licence, so every row is about the UK unless a note says otherwise. Our Trustly review is written mainly about the United States, where Trustly sells guarantees against ACH returns. Those guarantees are not part of this comparison. Trustly is a Swedish company launched in Stockholm in 2008. Trustly Group AB is a payment institution supervised by Sweden's Finansinspektionen, and in the UK it trades through Trustly UK Limited, an FCA-authorised payment institution (FRN 1005703), and Ecospend Technologies Limited (FRN 829713), the UK open banking firm it bought in January 2023. TrueLayer is a London company incorporated in July 2016. TrueLayer Limited is an FCA-authorised electronic money institution (FRN 901096), and TrueLayer (Ireland) Limited serves the EEA under Central Bank of Ireland authorisation. Neither publishes a price. Neither publishes its merchant agreement, so contract length and notice cannot be compared. The clearest difference in November 2026 is recurring payments. TrueLayer launched its Bank on File product on 2 June 2026 and says it made the first live payments under the UK Payments Initiative's commercial variable recurring payments (cVRP) scheme. Trustly said on 27 October 2026 that it is still adding cVRP support, and in the meantime sets up Bacs Direct Debit mandates through open banking. TrueLayer documents how merchants are paid: payments can go straight to your own bank account, or into a TrueLayer merchant account that sweeps to your business account on a schedule you choose, from hourly to fortnightly, with its fees deducted daily. Trustly does not publish how UK merchants are settled. Both carry weak Trustpilot scores, drawn mostly from consumers whose payments failed, and Trustly's Swedish parent was fined SEK 130 million by Finansinspektionen in February 2022 for anti-money-laundering failings.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Neither wins on price, because neither publishes one. Trustly and TrueLayer both quote each merchant individually, and as of November 2026 neither website has a pricing page. TrueLayer documents how its fees are collected (deducted daily from your merchant account and invoiced monthly); Trustly publishes no billing method for UK merchants.
- ✓TrueLayer is ahead on recurring Pay by Bank in the UK. Its Bank on File launched on 2 June 2026, and TrueLayer says it made the first live payments under the UK Payments Initiative's commercial VRP scheme. Trustly, which joined the scheme operator as a shareholder in July 2026, said on 27 October 2026 that it is still adding cVRP support, and offers Bacs Direct Debit mandates set up through open banking in the meantime.
- ✓TrueLayer publishes more of its settlement mechanics: you can be paid straight into your own bank account, or into a TrueLayer merchant account that sweeps hourly, every 3, 6 or 12 hours, daily, weekly or fortnightly. Trustly's developer documentation describes daily, weekly or monthly settlement agreed with Trustly, but does not say whether that applies to UK merchants.
- ✓Both are authorised by the FCA, under different permissions: Trustly UK Limited as a payment institution offering payment initiation and account information services (FRN 1005703), TrueLayer Limited as an electronic money institution (FRN 901096). Trustly's Swedish parent received a warning and a SEK 130 million fine from Finansinspektionen in February 2022 for anti-money-laundering failings.
- ✓Both have poor Trustpilot scores on 2 November 2026: Trustly 2.8 out of 5 from 3,458 reviews and TrueLayer 1.9 from 45. Most reviewers on both profiles are consumers who paid through the service, not merchants.
Trustly
Trustly suits a large UK or pan-European merchant, particularly in gaming, travel, utilities or financial services, that wants one Pay by Bank provider across the UK and many European markets, plus instant payouts and Direct Debit set up through open banking. Get the price, the settlement schedule and the contract terms in writing, because none is published, and ask when cVRP will be live for your sector.
TrueLayer
TrueLayer suits a UK or EEA merchant with developers that wants Pay by Bank, instant payouts and refunds, and recurring payments by commercial VRP or Direct Debit through one API, with settlement it can configure itself. Its price and merchant agreement are not public either, so get every billable event priced in writing before you sign.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
On published price the two cannot be separated: neither posts a rate, a payout or refund fee, or its merchant agreement, so the decision rests on written quotes. TrueLayer is the clearer choice if you need commercial VRP in the UK now, since its Bank on File has been live under the UK Payments Initiative since 2 June 2026 while Trustly says it is still adding support. TrueLayer also documents how you are paid, from payments straight to your own account to merchant-account sweeps as often as hourly, with its fees netted daily. Trustly's case is reach and scale: one provider across the UK and much of Europe, instant payouts that it says reach over 30 markets, and Direct Debit set up through open banking. Against it, its Swedish parent was fined SEK 130 million for anti-money-laundering failings in 2022. Both carry weak Trustpilot scores driven by consumers whose payments failed, so agree with either how a stuck payment is escalated before you switch it on.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
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Pricing (UK, November 2026)
| Feature | Trustly | TrueLayer |
|---|---|---|
| Pay by Bank payment fee | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Neither company publishes a merchant price, and both send businesses to a sales team. Third-party sites repeat a European Trustly figure of about 1.5% with a minimum charge per payment, but Trustly has not published it and we could not confirm it for the UK. TrueLayer's marketing makes broad claims about lowering payment costs against cards without stating its own charges. | ||
| Payout and refund fees | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Both sell payouts to customers and refunds back to the paying account, and neither publishes what they cost. Ask for a price for every billable event you expect to use. | ||
| How fees are collected | Not disclosed | Deducted daily from merchant account; invoiced monthly |
| TrueLayer's documentation describes net settlement: fees are taken each day from your merchant account balance in that account's currency, so a sweep arrives already reduced by the previous day's fees, and a monthly invoice totals them. Customers using only its Data API are invoiced at month end. Trustly does not publish how UK merchants are billed. | ||
| Fee to your customer | None from Trustly (currency conversion excepted) | None from TrueLayer |
| Trustly's help centre and UK end-user terms say Trustly charges payers no service fee, though a currency conversion fee can apply and is shown before the payment is approved. TrueLayer's end-user terms charge payers nothing. In both cases the customer's bank may charge its own fees. | ||
Pay by Bank payment fee
Trustly
Not disclosed
TrueLayer
Not disclosed
Neither company publishes a merchant price, and both send businesses to a sales team. Third-party sites repeat a European Trustly figure of about 1.5% with a minimum charge per payment, but Trustly has not published it and we could not confirm it for the UK. TrueLayer's marketing makes broad claims about lowering payment costs against cards without stating its own charges.
Payout and refund fees
Trustly
Not disclosed
TrueLayer
Not disclosed
Both sell payouts to customers and refunds back to the paying account, and neither publishes what they cost. Ask for a price for every billable event you expect to use.
How fees are collected
Trustly
Not disclosed
TrueLayer
Deducted daily from merchant account; invoiced monthly
TrueLayer's documentation describes net settlement: fees are taken each day from your merchant account balance in that account's currency, so a sweep arrives already reduced by the previous day's fees, and a monthly invoice totals them. Customers using only its Data API are invoiced at month end. Trustly does not publish how UK merchants are billed.
Fee to your customer
Trustly
None from Trustly (currency conversion excepted)
TrueLayer
None from TrueLayer
Trustly's help centre and UK end-user terms say Trustly charges payers no service fee, though a currency conversion fee can apply and is shown before the payment is approved. TrueLayer's end-user terms charge payers nothing. In both cases the customer's bank may charge its own fees.
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
UK utility, lender, investment platform or charity collecting variable recurring payments
Recommended
TrueLayer
TrueLayer's Bank on File has taken live commercial VRP payments under the UK Payments Initiative since 2 June 2026, with investment platforms and a housing association among its first users. Trustly said in late October 2026 that it is still adding cVRP support.
Merchant selling across the UK and many European countries
Recommended
Trustly
Trustly runs Pay by Bank across the Nordics and continental Europe as well as the UK and says its payouts reach over 30 markets. TrueLayer's own platform works in GBP, EUR and PLN, and it completed its purchase of Nordic Pay by Bank provider Zimpler in March 2026, so check that each provider reaches the banks your customers use.
UK business with fixed monthly billing that wants verified Direct Debit sign-ups
Both can set up a Direct Debit mandate through open banking, and both can take the first payment by Pay by Bank in the same journey. Compare the quoted price per mandate and per payment.
Gaming, trading or marketplace business paying money out to customers
Both sell instant bank payouts for withdrawals, winnings and refunds. TrueLayer pays out from a TrueLayer merchant account in GBP, EUR and PLN; Trustly says it pays out in over 30 markets. Speed claims on both sides are the companies' own, so test with your customers' banks.
Small business wanting a published price and self-serve setup
Neither publishes a price or a merchant agreement, and both go live only after their own teams enable your account. A small business taking occasional bank payments may find a provider with published pricing easier to evaluate.
Trustly: Best for 1 use case
TrueLayer: Best for 1 use case
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
We cannot say, because as of November 2026 neither publishes a merchant price for Pay by Bank, payouts or refunds in the UK. Both quote each business individually. Bank payments carry no card interchange or scheme fees, so either can cost less than cards on larger payments, but you need written quotes from both, priced on your own volumes and average payment size, to compare them. Figures of about 1.5% for Trustly that circulate online are third-party estimates for Europe, not a published UK price.
TrueLayer does. Its Bank on File product launched on 2 June 2026, and TrueLayer says it made the first live payments under the UK Payments Initiative's commercial VRP scheme. Trustly said on 27 October 2026 that it is adding commercial VRP to its recurring-payments products and will bring merchants live as bank coverage and Wave 1 terms allow. Wave 1 covers uses such as utilities, regulated financial services, government and charities; Trustly expects e-commerce and subscriptions to follow in Wave 2 in 2027, though the scheme has published no date.
Yes. Trustly UK Limited is authorised by the FCA as a payment institution (FRN 1005703) for payment initiation and account information services, and Trustly also owns Ecospend Technologies Limited (FRN 829713). TrueLayer Limited is authorised by the FCA as an electronic money institution (FRN 901096). In Europe, Trustly Group AB is supervised by Sweden's Finansinspektionen, which fined it SEK 130 million in February 2022 for anti-money-laundering failings, and TrueLayer (Ireland) Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Not on a one-off Pay by Bank payment with either provider. It is a bank transfer the customer approves in their own bank, so there is no card chargeback, and refunds come from the merchant. Payments under a Direct Debit mandate carry the Direct Debit Guarantee, and in the UK the Payment Systems Regulator's reimbursement rules cover eligible customers tricked by fraudsters into sending money over Faster Payments.
TrueLayer lets you take payments straight into your own bank account, or into a TrueLayer merchant account that sweeps to your business account hourly, every 3, 6 or 12 hours, daily, weekly or fortnightly, with fees deducted daily. Trustly's developer documentation describes manual withdrawals or automatic settlement daily, weekly or monthly on a schedule agreed with Trustly, but does not say whether that applies to UK merchants, so ask for the UK settlement schedule in writing.
No service fee from either. Trustly says it may charge a currency conversion fee if a customer pays in a different currency from their account, shown before they approve the payment. The customer's own bank may charge its own fees with either provider.
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