Trustly sees nearly £5BN worth of payments processed to HMRC via pay-by-bank in UK tax deadline month

Swedish fintech Trustly today said nearly £5bn worth of payments were processed through the UK tax authority in a tax deadline month via its card alternative system, marking a major increase from 2024.

Trustly said in January 2025, it processed 1.3m HMRC payments, totalling £4.7bn in value, via pay-by-bank, a 32 per cent increase on 2024, in the run-up to the self-assessment tax deadline.

The disclosure came today as the Swedish unicorn, backed by Nordic Capital and BlackRock, published selective financial figures via a press release for the year ending 2024.

Trustly, which leverages open banking technology to allow its customers to pay directly from their bank account without needing to use a card or app, snapped up UK open banking outfit Ecospend in 2023. 

The UK government department, HMRC, appointed Ecospend in 2021, marking the first time an open banking payment method had been embedded within a government system.

Trustly, which is seen as a strong IPO candidate, said that overall revenues grew by 32 per cent to $239m in the year ending 2024, helped by growth in the US and Europe.

It said adjusted EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization) grew by 50 per cent to $73.2m.

Adjusted EBITDA is a profitability metric that removes non-recurring, irregular, or one-off costs, such as restructuring costs, or acquisition expenses.

Trustly, which is understood to be profitable, did not publish a pre-tax profit figure, which is widely seen as the common indicator of a company's profitability, in the press release.

Elsewhere in its financials, Trustly highlighted growth across the US and Europe, citing partnerships in the US such as those with Coinbase as helping growth.

In Europe, it said its performance had been ”driven by rising transaction volumes, continued innovation, and a growing merchant base across all verticals”. Client wins in Europe include Lenovo and ITV.

Johan Tjärnberg, CEO of Trustly, said: "The increase in the total value of payments processed by Trustly and the rise in net revenue reflect the growing demand for customer-centric pay-by-bank solutions. The jump in adjusted EBITDA demonstrates the strength of our business model and operational scalability. 

 “Strategic partnerships have been critical for Trustly. In Europe, our ongoing collaboration with HMRC strengthens our public sector leadership. In North America, expanded engagements with financial institutions and gaming providers highlight the strength and adaptability of our risk engine."