TrueLayer teams up with Cazoo for instant payments

UK-based TrueLayer has partnered with online car retailer Cazoo to provide instant payments and refunds capabilities.

TrueLayer announced that its PayDirect platform has been integrated by Cazoo to offer instant payments, powered by Open Banking, it removes card and interchange fees and delivers an instant transaction confirmation.

The collaboration should improve the checkout process for Cazoo customers, making it easier and quicker by connecting to their bank to confirm payment.

TrueLayer said that ecommerce retailers are increasingly experiencing high failure rates as a result of card payment limits, potential fraud and chargebacks, and slow refund mechanisms.

Through the partnership, PayDirect supports Cazoo’s return policy, offering instant refunds to the purchaser should they change their mind, compared to up to five days for refunds for card-based payments.

Jonathan Howell, chief technology officer at Cazoo, said: “With refunds there is a high level of financial anxiety if you don’t get thousands back in your bank account right away.

“The ability to return that money in a quick, transparent and frictionless way creates a superior customer experience. Open Banking, delivered by TrueLayer’s technology, provides us with that.”

Cazoo has also used TrueLayer’s Open Banking platform to implement instant seller payments, which authenticates a seller by comparing the account holder name to their bank details in three clicks, compared to the traditional method of uploading bank statements that could take a period of days to be reviewed and validated.

With the seller’s details pre-populated and verified, Cazoo can make instant payouts via TrueLayer, which it said eliminates the risk of failed transactions arising from invalid bank details.

Head of ecommerce at TrueLayer, Roger De’Ath, added: “Cazoo appreciates that consumers are increasingly dissatisfied with the traditional ways of buying or selling a used car. They’re an industry innovator, determined to make the end-to-end process, including the checkout and payments, as hassle free as possible.

“With TrueLayer supporting instant bank payments for purchases and the ability to process instant refunds through PayDirect, it has created an incredibly powerful proposition.”

Former Klarna executive Mariko Beising is set to join TrueLayer as head of payment partnerships, as announced earlier this week.