Trustly, a global payment platform for digital account-to-account (A2A) transactions has unveiled the completion of its acquisition of Ecospend, a British open banking payments platform. This move was officially greenlit by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Trustly Acquired Ecospend Following Approval from the FCA

Following the M&A deal, Trustly and Ecospend will together form the leading open banking payments company in the entire United Kingdom. By joining their forces, the two payments specialist will have connectivity with more than 80 banks and a reach encompassing around 50 million consumers. In addition, the two companies together have an impressive UK payment volume of over $9.3 billion for 2022.

As noted by Trystly, Britain is one of the biggest A2A markets in Europe. As a result, the country is a core growth market for the company. The acquisition of a local powerhouse such as Ecospend will augment the provider’s presence in the country and will provide it with a myriad of robust services and solutions.

Ecospend offers reliable UK payment initiation services and data services, making it a great strategic fit with Trustly’s cross-border reach and collection capabilities. Thanks to the merger, Trustly will be able to grow its expansion both in the UK and Europe as a whole. Customers will immediately benefit from this partnership, Trustly promised.

Ecospend was founded in 2017 and is a pay-by-bank payments provider that offers next-gen payments and financial data services. As such a company, Ecospend works with companies across many industries

The Deal in Line with Both Companies’ Strategy

Johan Tjärnberg, Trustly’s chief executive officer, shared his thoughts on the finalization of this acquisition. He called it an “important milestone,” saying that it is in line with Trustly’s goal of becoming a game-changer in the United Kingdom.

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.

Johan Tjärnberg, CEO, Trustly

Ecospend’s chief commercial officer, James Hickman, also spoke on the agreement. He lauded the United Kingdom as the largest digital payments market. Because of this, the current agreement, which will see the two companies double down on their efforts in the country, is a great opportunity for Ecospend. Hickman concluded:

Trustly and Ecospend will be able to excel in this space with the most comprehensive and compelling solution on the market.

James Hickman, CCO, Ecospend

Trustly is famous for providing some of the most influential gambling operators in the country. In June 2022, the payments provider penned milestone agreement with the Super Group-owned operator Betway.