TrueLayer expands Nordics payment coverage through Lunar partnership
Ellie Duncan | News
06 Dec 2023
European Open Banking payments network TrueLayer has teamed up with Nordic challenger bank Lunar to increase its payment coverage across Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
It comes after digital bank Lunar opened up its Nordic payment infrastructure to partners in June this year and means that TrueLayer becomes the first major partner to leverage Lunar’s banking services.
Through the strategic partnership, TrueLayer will be able to access domestic payments across three Nordic markets, providing payment coverage across Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Ken Villum Klausen, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lunar, referred to the Nordics as a “difficult region” for international banks and fintechs to enter.
“By opening our infrastructure to partners, we unlock a highly complex banking environment and enable more banks and fintechs to do business in the Nordics,” he said.
“Our technology and banking service offering accelerates innovation and competition in the region as we enable some of the most innovative powerhouses to enter the Nordics and compete with local incumbents.”
“Truelayer will extend its instant account-to-account capabilities to the Nordics, empowering merchants to offer enhanced payment experiences to their consumers,” said Paiak Vaid, vice president of global partnerships at TrueLayer.
Vaid added that the partnership will also enable TrueLayer to tap into the region’s “digitally-forward consumer base”.
Lunar received a banking license in 2019 and now has more than 750,000 private and business customers in the Nordics.
Klausen added: “We have invested massively in our banking and payment infrastructure to be able to deliver the best everyday banking experience to our Nordic users.
“The interest we’re currently experiencing from the market shows that we have a compelling business opportunity in front of us, as we open the Nordics to the rest of the world.”
In October, TrueLayer became the first European Open Banking payment option offered to customers of Stripe. Merchants can use TrueLayer’s ‘Payments’ product to accept Open Banking payments in GBP and euros across 21 countries.
