Trustly snaps up Ecospend in UK open banking push
Swedish open banking firm Trustly has snapped up British rival Ecospend this week as it looks to ramp up its presence in the UK.
Trustly, which allows users to bypass card networks with account-to-account payments, said it had its sights set on becoming a market leader in the UK, the Sunday Times first reported.
The firm is eyeing a bigger slice of the UK’s buoyant open banking space as it moves towards its second period of implementation, which will be overseen primarily by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payments Service Regulator.
Until now, open banking has been spearheaded by the Competition and Markets Authority in a bid to force banks to free up customer data sharing and allow a wider range of financial services firms to access it, which has spawned a wave of fintech firms in the UK.
Trustly and EcoSpend have not disclosed the size or terms of the deal. It comes after Trustly revealed plans for a $9bn listing in Stockholm last year but was forced to pull back when regulators flagged concerns over a lack of due dilligence.
Founded by Metin Erkman in 2017, London-based Ecospend counts ITV among its customer base and allows firms to “pay by bank” rather than through traditional routes.