Trustly’s Vasilije Lekovic talks to iGaming Times about the company’s Pay N Play product: an innovation in payments that makes player registration both quicker and simpler – and yet still more secure.
iGAMING TIMES: What do consumers demand from payment methods in 2019 – and are they especially discerning when it comes to gambling?
VASILIJE LEKOVIC: In today’s era of technological innovation, players seek a fast, simple and secure payment experience. Moreover, the player journey has become more important in the gambling industry than ever before and players are looking for the fastest way, from entering the website to playing their favorite slot game or placing a sports bet. Payments are a very important part of the player journey and therefore the payment methods that can help simplify and accelerate this process are the ones in demand. The same goes for the gambling operators that can create a frictionless experience for their players.
iGT: How does your Pay N Play product meet these expectations?
VL: Since the company was founded in 2008, Trustly has been innovating in payments. Given our strong product-market fit in gaming, we are naturally always looking for ways to help our customers by offering innovative products and features.
With that in mind, the Pay N Play product was created in 2015 with a goal of simplifying the player journey, focusing on streamlined registration and verification, accompanied with the instant deposits and payouts.
Pay N Play is based on Trustly’s innovative technology that allows instant deposits and payouts, as well as collecting verified KYC data of the users during the deposit process, in real time. Players start their journey not by filling a lengthy registration form but by depositing with Trustly. During this deposit process, we collect the player’s KYC data from his or her bank and other, external sources, and we share it with the operator, which creates a verified player account. So once the deposit is completed, the player can play right away. This simplified journey that combines deposit, registration and account verification has helped the operators significantly improve their acquisition, conversion and re-activation numbers. As a result, today we have almost 100 brands live with Pay N Play across multiple markets, including Sweden, Finland, Germany, Estonia and the Netherlands.
iGT: Can you explain how your technology facilitates thorough identification without compromising on speed?
VL: When a player makes a deposit directly from his or her bank account, our platform collects the KYC data of the player from the bank or other sources, including registries or third-party KYC providers. This information is sent to the operator, which creates a verified player account on the player’s behalf and prompts him or her to start playing. Therefore, Pay N Play actually helps speed up the process for both the user and the operator, removing obstacles from the inefficient registration and account verification, as well as combining the registration/log-in with a deposit.
iGT: What is the difference between the Pure and Hybrid versions and where would they be most appropriate?
VL: The Pure Pay N Play model is definitely the most successful one, due to its simplicity. In this model, Trustly is the only registration, login, deposit and payout method. As previously described, the player registers on the website via Trustly and can log in to the website the same way, so there is no need to create or remember a username and password. Once the player is registered and logged in, he or she can make deposits using Trustly or withdraw winnings back to their bank account with one click. This makes for a simple, closed-loop payment experience that benefits both the player and the operator.
Usually, the operators that want to have a Pure Pay N Play website either create a new brand or rebrand one of their small brands to fit this model. On the other hand, the Hybrid Pay N Play model has been very successful as well. This model allows the operator to keep the regular registration setup, as well as the cashier with different payment methods, and still reap the benefits of simplified registration, login and deposits directly from the homepage. The players of Hybrid Pay N Play setup have two alternatives when they come to the website: they are able to register/ login the traditional way or use Trustly and Pay N Play. Once logged in, those players are able to use any payment method to deposit or withdraw, not only Trustly.
The Hybrid model is usually used by the operators that have big brands and want to improve their acquisition, conversion and user re-activation by offering an additional and innovative way of doing it.
iGT: How does this product interact and comply with different regulatory environment for gaming?
VL: Before we launch Pay N Play in a new market, we always approach the gambling regulator first in order to get its approval and adjust the product so it is in line with the local regulations. This has been a successful formula so far; we have received a very positive feedback from different regulators acknowledging that our product actually enhances the KYC/AML processes of the operators and helps them fulfil the regulatory requirements.
