Virgin Media O2 to Adopt Trustly’s Open Banking Services

United Kingdom telecommunications company Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) plans to adopt Trustly’s open banking services so it can offer VMO2 customers direct debit account automation and one-off pay-by-bank payments.

VMO2 will integrate Trustly’s payments technology in the coming months, the companies said in a Wednesday (July 23) press release.

The integration will streamline payments and onboarding processes, with direct debit account automation making it easier for users to sign up for VMO2 services, and one-off pay-by-bank payments simplifying payment processes, according to the release.

Virgin Media O2’s broadband, mobile, TV and home phone services have 45 million U.K. connections, and the company launched a “customer service turnaround strategy” earlier this year, per the release.

“We’ve been making real progress with our plans to improve the service we offer our customers over recent months and, as part of this strategy, we’re always looking at rolling out new products and services that can improve their experience with us,” Virgin Media O2 Chief Commercial Officer Christian Hindennach said in the release.

Trustly Group CEO Johan Tjärnberg said in the release that the collaboration will help advance the adoption of pay-by-bank solutions in the U.K.

“By integrating Trustly’s technology, Virgin Media O2 will be able to further streamline its digital payments infrastructure and simplify onboarding processes, delivering a faster, safer and more seamless payment experience for its customers using innovative open banking services by Trustly,” Tjärnberg said.

One-fifth of U.K. consumers and small businesses actively use open banking, up from 1 in 17 in March 2021, Open Banking Limited said in a May 16 press release.

These users made 31 million open banking payments in March alone, according to the release. This usage is expanding into travel, eCommerce, credit card payments and savings account deposits. Variable recurring payments now account for 13% of the total.

One of the biggest incentives for consumers to use pay by bank at retail is how their bank account essentially travels with them, like PayPal, Trustly founder and CEO Alexandre Gonthier told PYMNTS in an interview posted in February.

Because that “eliminates the authentication step, pay by bank has the potential to become an alternative to Apple Pay,” Gonthier said.