West Ham United and Trustly seal banking partnership

Premier League football club West Ham United FC has named online platform Trustly its official global open banking partner.

As a result of the agreement, the Stockholm-based banking provider will gain brand exposure via pitch side signage at the Hammers’ London Stadium.

The East London club has a large fan base both in the UK and internationally and is currently featured in Forbes’ top 20 most valuable clubs list, providing Trustly with extensive marketing and advertising opportunities.

“At West Ham United, innovation is key to everything we do and we are thrilled to partner with Trustly, an organisation that is redefining the speed, simplicity and security of payments through its own products,” remarked Nathan Thompson, West Ham United’s Commercial Director.

Open Banking has been expanding rapidly in the UK, having been active in the country for over three years. 

According to data from the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) 2.5 million British banking customers connect their accounts to trusted third-parties, an increase from the January 2020 figure of one million.

As an initiative, open banking enables Trustly to enhance its account-to-account payment solution in the UK market, providing merchants the opportunity to offer customers a preferred way to pay.

“Trustly is delighted to partner with West Ham United, the iconic London club in the Premier League,” commented Johan Nord, EMEA Chief Business Officer, Trustly.

“This partnership comes as the UK’s adoption of Open Banking experiences tremendous growth. We’re overjoyed to combine the worlds of football and payment solutions, and we look forward to working closely with West Ham throughout this multi-year partnership.”

Founded in 2008, Trustly currently serves up over 8,100 merchants, connecting them with 525 million customers and 6,300 banks in 30 countries. The firm processed over $21 billion transitions globally in 2020.

Ciaran O’Malley, Vice Presidents of Partnerships at Trustly, spoke to SBC in November 2020 to discuss the company’s rapid growth over the year, such as the introduction of its Scan N Play solution and the success of its Pay N Play online banking platform, as well as agreements with casino and sportsbook operators.