TrueLayer and Lightyear partner for instant investment account funding with Open Banking payments

By Joy Dumasia

TrueLayer, the global open banking pioneer, announced a new collaboration with investment platform Lightyear to deliver instant account funding through open banking payments. As consumer interest in trading and investing platforms grows, so does the expectation of a frictionless experience. Thanks to open banking, payments now present an opportunity for new trading and investment firms to differentiate and drive customer loyalty.

Lightyear has implemented instant account-to-account payments using TrueLayer’s Open Banking platform. Lightyear’s customers can now easily connect their primary bank account to the trading app for instant and secure funding using Payments Initiation. This improved process means customers can fund their accounts with confidence in seconds and make timely investment decisions.

Research by YouGov and TrueLayer has shown that payments directly influence investor satisfaction. More than half (57%) of current and prospective UK investors said they are more likely to trust a provider that offers instant payments. Further, around a fifth of these investors have missed out on an investment opportunity because funds didn’t appear in their accounts quickly enough, causing them to miss trading cycles.

The TrueLayer collaboration also improves Lightyear’s operational efficiency by removing costly transaction fees associated with cards and other payment methods such as PayPal. Higher payment acceptance and instant settlement also mean less time spent managing failed payments, ultimately leading to customer churn.

Martin Sokk, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightyear: “Our goal is to make investing easy and approachable for everyone in Europe. A big part of that means removing all the traditional pain points that create a clunky customer journey. Collaborating with TrueLayer to offer seamless, instant payments improves our customer experience two-fold. Our partnership will allow our customers to invest with confidence, and we’re excited to be working with them.”

IBS Intelligence recently reported that TrueLayer, the global open banking pioneer, announced the appointment of Rob Hale as Head of Banking in Australia.