Operators are under pressure on every front, from rising costs to changing regulation. When operators choose a payment partner, what actually matters?
In the second part of this Payment Expert special, Tom Voaden, VP Account Management at Trustly, makes the case for results over reputation, local expertise over one-size-fits-all, and products that go beyond payment processing.
With the breadth of products, the coverage across jurisdictions and the longevity in the market, where does this place Trustly among such intense competition?
I think the facts and numbers speak for themselves. As well as operating across the UK, Europe and North America, Trustly processed around $100B in volume last year.
Millions of users are enrolled in the Trustly network, so when they visit a new website we make their journey much shorter and faster.
We also work with some of the largest operators in the world, and not just for a year or two. With many of them, it’s been more than a decade.
Being first, or among the first, isn’t enough on its own. Plenty of companies have been around for a long time. What matters is results, and our growth as a company, with our operators and across our user base. Operators know that, and they’ve kept trusting us over the years.
In the end, licensed operators look at product quality, results, conversion rates, volumes processed and platform stability. Because of those, many of them continue to choose Trustly as a Pay by Bank provider.
How important are localisation and a market-specific approach to Trustly’s global outlook?
Very important, because no two markets are the same. Even within Scandinavia, Sweden, Finland and Denmark are completely different when it comes to payments.
A local approach starts with processing payments from a local bank account and offering the journey in the player’s own language. It also means keeping pace as each market changes.
In Finland, for example, new gaming regulation comes into effect in 2027. We’re working closely with operators and partners there to make sure they have everything they need from their core payments partner to keep succeeding in the market.
Compare that with the Netherlands, where the shift from iDEAL to Wero brings uncertainty, but also opportunity, for operators and for Trustly. It’s a completely different local challenge, and one we’re tackling with energy and pace.
You can’t have one strategy for every market. It doesn’t work.
You’ve announced product expansions in several markets recently. Could you talk us through them and what they mean for operators?
If you want to compete globally, instant deposits and payouts aren’t enough. You need to build features on top.
We’ve built several. Pay N Play is one of our flagship products, and after launching it in Scandinavia, we’ve now brought it to the UK. Over time, we expect it to change how UK operators onboard, register and verify players.
Another example is our affordability product. It uses Open Banking data, with the player’s consent, to give operators insight into players’ finances, so they can use it to support affordability checks and how they meet their regulatory requirements.
A comprehensive version is live with several operators in the UK, and we’ve launched a simpler version, tailored for the specific regulatory demands, in Germany. We’re now looking at other markets.
These products come from listening to operators. We’re always talking to them about what they need and the problems they want to solve. With regulation tightening in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere, they need more than payment processing, including affordability and income checks. We build features that solve those problems without disrupting the player journey. I think this is what sets Trustly apart from many of our competitors.
We’ve also added features to our core products. With Trustly Remember Me, players can choose to have their last used bank account saved, so returning deposits are faster.
And whenwe recognise players who are already in the Trustly network, they don’t need to select their bank or account again when they visit a new site. The result is a faster, more familiar journey.
Each of these features lifts conversion, which averaged above 95% in H1 2026 across average gaming deposits. That comes from these features and from the network of users we’ve built over the years
Together, this means Trustly will keep supporting gaming operators with strong service, reliability and new products for the long term.
