TrueLayer acquires Dutch fintech In3 to offer credit at checkout

TrueLayer, a UK payments fintech looking to disrupt the dominance of card payments, has acquired a Dutch fintech, in a move to expand its offering to credit products.  

Backed by Stripe and Tiger Global, TrueLayer leverages open banking technology to allow customers to make online transactions.

These payments are called account-to-account payments or pay by bank and are an alternative to going through card giant intermediaries Visa and MasterCard.

TrueLayer says its technology has transparent pricing, no hidden fees and eliminates fraud.

TrueLayer has acquired 20-strong Dutch fintech In3, which specialises in consumer credit via bank payments. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

TrueLayer said the acquisition means it can offer consumers the option to pay by debit and now credit at checkout- saying it’s the only pay by bank network in Europe to offer the combination. 

Until now, pay by bank has been focused on debit transactions. It says its first credit product launch will be a Buy Now Pay Later product, with longer-duration credit products to follow later this year.

Pay by bank payments are still dwarfed by those of card transactions. 

According to the FT, open banking powered a total of 27mn payments in the UK in March 2025, according to Open Banking Limited. By contrast, the Payments Systems Regulator recorded 1.92bn card transactions in February.

But TrueLayer, whose merchant partners include Amazon, Just Eat Takeaway and Coinbase, pointed to figures showing pay by bank transactions now account for up to 17 per cent of European ecommerce transaction value.

The fintech also pointed out the deal comes at a time of concerns about European reliance on US tech and financial institutions.

TrueLayer, which operates across 22 countries, says it processes more than $150bn in annualised payment volume.

Francesco Simoneschi, CEO and co-founder of TrueLayer, said: "With the addition of In3's team and their deep expertise in consumer credit, we now have the people, the network and the products to build a truly independent European payments alternative to the card networks."