Open Banking Platform - TrueLayer offers a variety of financial service related products that include, instant bank payments, fast payout, user onboarding, and variable recurring payments that make it easier and safer to transact money. This includes e-commerce, gaming, financial services, travel, and cryptocurrency industries. In 2016, the company was originally called Finport but now operates under the name TrueLayer out of London, U.K.
Finport Limited was founded in July 2016 and has since been renamed to TrueLayer.
Most recent round of funding raised $50 million dollars bringing their total to $321.8 million dollars.
TrueLayer and Tebex partnered up to offer gaming companies a Pay by Bank solution.
Limited technical details in available sources; focused on open banking APIs
| Service | Cost | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Develop | $0/Forever | 100 Active Connected Accounts, Sandbox with live bank accounts, Create an account in few steps | — |
| Scale | $326/Per Month | All Develop features plus usage based pricing, No setup cost | — |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Custom plans based on transaction volume and features, Volume discounts available | — |
| Free Trial | Available | Free trial available for testing | — |
| Feature | TrueLayer | Plaid | Tink |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Functionality | Payments + Data + Identity | Data aggregation + Payments | Data + Payments (EU) |
| Pricing (starting) | $0 sandbox, $326/mo Scale | Usage-based, custom | Custom enterprise |
| Free Tier | Yes (Develop $0) | Sandbox available | Sandbox available |
| Enterprise Features | Custom plans, volume discounts | SSO, audit logs | Enterprise compliance |
| API Availability | Yes (Data, Payments, VRP) | Yes (comprehensive) | Yes (EU-focused) |
| Geographic Coverage | UK/EU (95%+ accounts) | US primary, global expansion | EU primary |
| Support Options | Customer support, documentation | Enterprise support | Enterprise support |
| Security Certifications | PSD2, FCA regulated | SOC 2, compliance | GDPR, PSD2 |
| VRP Support | Yes (UK leader) | No | No |
| Pay-by-Bank | Yes (strong focus) | Emerging | Limited |
TrueLayer is a leader in the UK/EU pay-by-bank (OB) and Variable Recurring Payment (VRP) space as it relates to Open Banking. Plaid is a leader in U.S.-focused Data Aggregation and On-Boarding. TrueLayer offers superior Payments Coverage in Europe but lacks a U.S.-based presence.
Choose TrueLayer if you want to connect your application to European Payments Networks; choose Plaid if you have a U.S.-centric Fintech Application.
Both are focused on open banking platforms within the EU, however TrueLayer has an advantage in terms of payments innovation (VRP) while Tink has a focus on data enrichment. TrueLayer also has a stronger UK Market Position.
Use TrueLayer for Payments-Led Use Cases, and use Tink for Data Analytics & Enrichment.
While both offer global payments, Stripe is more broadly positioned as a payment processor whereas TrueLayer is more specialist in its offering of open banking compliance and VRP capability within the UK/EU.
Use TrueLayer for Open Banking Compliance Needs, and Use Stripe for Global Payment Processing.
Noda offers lower priced transparent 0.1% transaction fees based on a simpler pricing model versus TrueLayer which is quote-based (sales quotes). TrueLayer offers a more comprehensive feature set but less pricing transparency.
Use Noda for Simple Low Volume Transactions, and TrueLayer for Complex Enterprise Payments.
TrueLayer is an open banking platform that has payment, account verification, and data access APIs. It connects businesses to over 98% of all bank accounts in the United Kingdom using a single API. Businesses use TrueLayer for faster account onboarding, secure payment processing, and financial insights.
The Verification API instantly verifies if a user owns an account and if the name of the account holder matches the name of the user by accessing open banking data. The results are delivered in seconds and have a 20% higher success rate compared to credit bureau methods. This eliminates the need for manual bank statement uploads or micro-deposit verifications.
Connecting directly to banks requires regulatory approvals and maintenance of dozens of individual APIs. TrueLayer provides a single standard API for 98%+ of all UK banks. The integration time frame for TrueLayer is less than three (3) months while the average time to integrate with banks individually can take anywhere from 3 to 12 months.
Yes, TrueLayer uses bank-grade security with Open Banking standards and data minimization principles. Customer device biometric authentication is used for verification. The APIs eliminate the need to share login credentials and other sensitive information.
TrueLayer’s primary markets include UK, Ireland and Spain open banking markets where it processes over 50% of all open banking traffic in those regions. Its European expansion continues with PSD2 compliance.
The Payments API provides for a single endpoint to support instant payments, refunds, payouts and withdrawals, as well as other complex flow such as instant refund which is not possible with basic open banking as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI).
To get started you can sign up for a developer account to use the sandbox environment. There are also comprehensive documents available at docs.truelayer.com, production access will require compliance with regulatory requirements or by using the TrueLayer agent model.
Virtual Accounts (VRPs) allow for direct recurring payments from bank accounts rather than via card details. The first live VRP transaction was completed by TrueLayer with NatWest in the UK. They were specifically designed for subscription models and regular payments.
TrueLayer is leading the way in open banking in Europe with its comprehensive APIs for payments, verification and data access across the UK, Ireland and Spain. It has a single-API aggregation model that provides significant reduction in integration complexity whilst remaining compliant with regulatory requirements. Therefore it would be suitable for both fintechs and large enterprise companies looking to build their own financial service product(s).
TrueLayer is particularly suited to regulated fintechs and platforms wishing to develop sophisticated open banking experiences in Europe.
TrueLayer is the most dominant player in European Open Banking via their APIs for payments, verification and account data at over 98% of all UK banks. Their single API aggregation model has greatly reduced the time and cost associated with connecting directly with banks compared to previous models. As an AIS/PIS Provider, Electronic Money Institution and a significant market player they are well-regulated and positioned within the industry.
Good - comprehensive technical details from official documentation and product pages. Limited public information on pricing, support SLAs, and customer case studies. No G2/Capterra ratings in available sources.
TrueLayer is processing open banking traffic exceeding 50 percent in UK, Ireland and Spain. The conversion rate for payments through TrueLayer is approximately 20 percent higher compared to its competitors. TrueLayer was first to successfully execute a live Virtual Representative Payment (VRP) with NatWest.
TrueLayer is licensed and regulated for both Account Information Services (AIS), and Payment Initiation Services (PIS) in UK and EU. As an Electronic Money Institution, TrueLayer can provide immediate refunds on electronic transactions. Unregulated merchants can use TrueLayer's Agent Model to access open banking.
TrueLayer's machine-learning powered name matching engine has increased name matching verification accuracy by 20 percent when compared to traditional credit bureau solutions. A single API provides access to 98 percent plus of all UK bank accounts. TrueLayer's full sandbox environment enables faster and more efficient application development.
TrueLayer powers Top-up functionality for Revolut, Nutmeg, Freetrade and Trading 212. It is used by companies operating within iGaming and Financial Services for Verification and Payment purposes. TrueLayer enables real-time affordability checks and account aggregation.
Provides the ability to access the balance of an account across all customer accounts.
Provides real time access to transactional data and history.
Provides account ownership verification via a name matching solution using Bank Records.
Provides a complete view of the customers financial data including account balances, transaction history, credit limits, etc.
Provides consolidation of multiple external bank accounts into one location.
Provides a machine learning powered cross market transaction classification and merchant identification solution.
Provides real time payment status updates along with specific error codes for failed transactions.
Provides real time financial history analysis to validate customer payment capability.
Provides instant account ownership verification via a name matching solution that achieves greater than 20 percent higher success rates than traditional credit bureau solutions.
