20+ years in the gambling industry including 13+ years playing and reviewing slots.
OLBG’s Chris Taylor spoke to Vasilije Lekovic, Vice President of Gaming at Trustly, for a general Questions and Answers interview.
Formed in 2008, Trustly is a Swedish fintech company that specialises in open banking payments. Connecting 12,000 banks with 650 million customers, Trustly serves over 9,000 companies globally including the majority of UK casino sites. Growing in popularity amongst British players, Trustly deposits and withdrawals are quick and secure.
Vasilije Lekovic has been with Trustly since June 2015 and has extensive experience with online gaming payments having occupied 5 positions in his time there. OLBG’s Q&A with Trustly focuses on how Trustly works, why it should be the payment method of choice at UK casinos, the benefits versus other payment methods, Trustly’s popularity, Uk player preferences and the future of Pay N Play.
Q: For players not familiar with Trustly, how does it work?
VL: “Trustly allows you to make online payments directly from your bank account to a merchant's bank account. There is no need to manually enter any account or card numbers. Instead, you simply choose your bank and authorize the payment using Face ID or fingerprint in your bank app.”
Q: Why should UK players use Trustly when depositing and withdrawing at online casinos?
VL: “One of the most obvious benefits of Trustly is speed: it’s an instant way to pay that ensures your money is available in your gaming account for you to start playing in seconds. And when you want to withdraw your winnings, getting your money into your bank account is equally fast. It’s also a very safe way to pay where you authorize yourself using your bank app to ensure your data and money is protected.”
Q: What are the advantages of Trustly compared to other payment methods?
VL: “A big advantage is how easy it is to use. There is no manual entry of account or card numbers, you just authorize the payment using Face ID or fingerprint in your bank app and you’re done. That convenient and quick user experience, coupled with bank-level security, is a great advantage compared to other payment methods.”
Q: Why do you think Trustly’s popularity has grown in the UK in recent years?
VL: “We’ve seen a significant growth in Pay by Bank in the UK in general over the past few years. We know that Trustly has been an important part of that growth by offering an industry-leading user experience that’s both quick, intuitive and safe.”
Q: Are players’ preferences regarding payments different in the UK compared to other markets?
VL: “The UK has been an exceptionally card-focused market with digital wallets being the main alternative. However, we are seeing that the UK’s initiatives around Open Banking are really paying off and adoption of Pay by Bank is growing quickly, taking market share from both cards and digital wallets.
In fact, last year the UK crossed a significant threshold of having over 10 million Open Banking users and the value of bank payments is expected to grow by over 200 percent between now and 2027 according to Juniper research.”
Q: Will Pay N Play ever be available in the UK?
VL: “We actually launched Pay N Play late last year with a smaller brand in the UK and we are in discussions with several larger operators right now about launching Pay N Play and replicating the success we've had.
As more and more players choose to pay with Trustly, it only makes sense that we would help those players save time by allowing them to register and pay in the same convenient flow.”
