TrueLayer Buys In3: Inside the Deal That Brings Credit to Europe’s Fastest-Growing Payment Rail

What the Acquisition Unlocks: Credit at Checkout

Until now, TrueLayer’s network exclusively moved money from customer bank accounts to merchant accounts in real time — essentially a digital debit transaction. Adding In3 gives TrueLayer the technology and regulatory expertise to offer a full spectrum of payment options at checkout.

• Immediate Rollout: A BNPL product will be the first consumer credit offering to launch.
• Future Roadmap: Longer-duration, multi-instalment credit products are planned to follow later in 2026, extending TrueLayer’s reach into higher-value ecommerce purchases.
• Data-Driven Underwriting: Unlike standalone BNPL providers, TrueLayer intends to use its existing access to real-time bank transaction data and payment intelligence to make faster, more accurate lending decisions at the point of sale.

The approach embeds credit natively into the payment flow rather than bolting it on as a separate application. For merchants, this means a single integration can handle both instant debit and flexible credit; for consumers, it streamlines the checkout experience.

A Strategic Bet on European Payments Independence

The acquisition arrives at a moment when policymakers and business leaders across Europe are scrutinizing the region's reliance on US-operated financial infrastructure. TrueLayer’s leadership explicitly framed the deal in this context. CEO Francesco Simoneschi noted that US card networks process roughly 95% of UK card transactions, with a similar majority across Europe.

“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.” — Francesco Simoneschi, CEO of TrueLayer

By combining an account-to-account payment network with an embedded credit capability, TrueLayer aims to create a full-stack European alternative — one that doesn’t depend on US card rails for either debit or credit transactions.

TrueLayer’s Scale, by the Numbers

The strategic logic of the acquisition becomes clearer when set against TrueLayer’s existing operational footprint.

• Annualized Payment Volume: Over $150 billion, reflecting rapid growth from $80 billion annualised in FY2024.
• Geographic Coverage: Live in 22 countries, with a presence in all major European markets plus recent expansion into Poland with Zloty support.
• Consumer Reach: Serving more than 25 million consumers, a sharp increase from the 10 million active users reported in 2024.
• Merchant Partners: The network powers checkout for global brands including Amazon, Just Eat Takeaway, Coinbase, eBay, and bet365, signaling mainstream adoption beyond fintech.
• UK Market Position: TrueLayer now processes nearly half of all UK Pay by Bank transactions, cementing its position as the category leader in the market where open banking payments are most commercially advanced.

Open Banking vs. Card Payments: The Growth Story

The scale of the opportunity — and the size of the gap that TrueLayer is trying to close — is visible in the numbers comparing open banking to card transactions.

Open banking payments in the UK totalled 27 million transactions in March 2025, according to Open Banking Limited. In the same market, card transactions reached 1.92 billion in February 2025, as recorded by the Payments Systems Regulator. That’s roughly 71 card payments for every one open banking payment, highlighting both the dominance of card infrastructure and the enormous addressable market for Pay by Bank.

Despite this disparity, the momentum is shifting. Pay by Bank transactions now account for up to 17% of European ecommerce transaction value, and major commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay have integrated the option at checkout. TrueLayer CEO Simoneschi has described the movement as still being “at the starting line,” suggesting that the bulk of adoption is yet to come.

By adding credit to its established debit capability, TrueLayer is positioning itself to capture a larger share of both everyday purchases and higher-ticket transactions that often require a lending option — exactly the segment where card networks have traditionally held an advantage. In3’s technology gives TrueLayer the missing piece to challenge that dynamic from a position of strength.