London-based TrueLayer believes that open banking should be the default way to save money safely and instantly. The fintech startup makes it easy to integrate financial services such as open banking into any website or app.
TrueLayer becomes a unicorn!
In a recent development, the company announced that it has secured $130M (approx €110.88M) in a fresh round of funding. With this, the company has earned the status of a unicorn with a post-money valuation of more than $1B (approx €852.9M).
The current round was led by new investor Tiger Global Management LLC, the New York-based technology investor, with participation from global payments technology provider Stripe.
Alex Cook, Partner at Tiger Global, says, “The shift to alternative payment methods is accelerating with the global growth of online commerce, and we believe TrueLayer will play a central role in making these payment methods more accessible. We’re excited to partner with TrueLayer as they help customers increase conversion and continue to grow the network.”
Capital utilisation
The company aims to provide opportunities in e-commerce to supercharge the mainstream adoption of open banking payments. On average, one in three people already choose to pay via TrueLayer, and some merchant partners are seeing more than 70 per cent of their customers choosing to pay securely with their bank account over cards or digital wallets.
The raised capital will therefore be used by TrueLayer to further scale its business, offering the benefits of instant bank payments to more markets and sectors, and continuing its product development and innovation, such as the PayDirect solution.
The funds will also be used to continue the company’s geographic expansion as well as hire more talents in its engineering, product, and commercial teams, globally.
Staying true to open banking
Founded in 2016 by Francesco Simoneschi and Luca Martinetti, TrueLayer is a fintech platform utilised to build financial apps that connect to bank data, verify accounts, and access transactions. It claims to be one of the first companies in the UK to be authorised and registered by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) to provide account information and payment initiation services under open banking.
Simoneschi says, “When Luca and I started TrueLayer in 2016, we imagined open banking becoming a new digital channel for solving cost and complexities around payments, digital identity, credit data, and much more. We wanted to open up this newly built infrastructure to many businesses and consumers. It is such a joy to see our vision coming alive and open banking-based payments quickly becoming the new normal.”
The company claims that millions of consumers and businesses use TrueLayer to pay for goods and services. Whether investing through Freetrade, banking with Revolut, buying or selling a car on Cazoo, or saving money with one of the UK’s largest loyalty card schemes, TrueLayer powers some of Europe’s most innovative brands.
Simoneschi explains, “There is only so long that global business can rely on systems that are outdated, expensive, and not fit for the digital age. TrueLayer can deliver a fundamentally faster, safer, and more user-friendly experience that also improves conversion and delivers higher revenues for merchants. We are leading this innovation through instant deposits and withdrawals, and merging Variable Recurring Payments and Direct Debit to build ‘account on file’ services on top of our open banking network. There is an opportunity to rewire the financial system from the ground up and we are leading that evolution through open banking payments.”
TrueLayer’s network provides more than 95 per cent coverage across the UK and major European markets, and accounts for more than half of all open banking traffic in the UK, Ireland, and Spain. Its API-first approach helps customers to seamlessly pay, onboard, and share financial information in seconds.
Recent developments
This year, TrueLayer has processed billions in payments, witnessing 400 per cent growth in monthly payment volume and 800 per cent growth in monthly payment value as the company expanded across Europe and doubled its customer base.
The current funding round also follows the company’s launch of its PayDirect solution, Verification API, and Payouts solution, receiving its full EU authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland and establishing its European HQ in Dublin.
Earlier in April 2021, TrueLayer secured $70M (nearly €59M) in its Series D round of funding led by new investor Addition.