Trustly receives binding equity letters over $40 million
Trustly has irrevocable equity letters of more than $40 million from Nordic Capital and Alfvén & Didrikson. The raise is due to conclude in November 2026.
On 2 October 2026, Trustly Holding AB said its parent, Trustly AB (publ), had received irrevocable and legally binding equity commitment letters of more than $40 million from Nordic Capital, its principal shareholder, and from Alfvén & Didrikson. That release is not a closed round, and these are not new investors. Trustly's own site lists Nordic Capital as an owner since 2018 and Alfvén & Didrikson since 2011. The company says the raise should conclude in November 2026, that other existing shareholders may still join, and that the final amount will be announced only on completion. No valuation is disclosed.
The letters are to fund products that use artificial intelligence (AI) to turn payments into intelligence for winning customers, keeping them and staying ahead of risk, on the open banking network Trustly already runs in the US, Canada and Europe. Trustly already markets Azura as checkout data that, it says, doubles payment speed. Group chief executive Johan Tjärnberg said in the release: "Trustly is the payments network behind more than 50 million consumers and over $120bn in transactions a year." He also said: "This commitment from Nordic Capital and Alfvén & Didrikson is a vote of confidence in Trustly and where we're headed." The same release says Trustly processed over $100 billion of payments in 2025, through more than 9,000 merchants and 12,000 banks. Tjärnberg's "$120bn", and the site's "nearly $100 billion" for 2024, are not that figure, and none of the three is a valuation.
Insiders writing the cheque
Fredrik Näslund, partner and head of technology and payments at Nordic Capital Advisors, said the firm had backed Trustly since 2018 and that the letters reflect "a strong confidence in the business and its strategy". Hjalmar Didrikson, co-founder of Alfvén & Didrikson, dated his firm's backing to 15 years, matching the 2011 shareholder entry. BlackRock, listed there as a shareholder since 2020, is not on the letters. Tech.eu reported the same day that the equity comes from those two holders, with others still able to join.
A loss year, then a stronger quarter
FinTech Futures, in its top-five roundup of 2 October 2026, reported plans to cut around 200 roles globally. Citing LinkedIn, it put the workforce at 865, about a quarter of the business. A spokesperson said: "These changes are about sharpening our focus and concentrating investment behind the priorities that will help us lead the rapidly growing open banking market." Citing the annual report for the year ending 31 December 2025, FinTech Futures said the consolidated net loss widened by 33.2% to SEK 534.3 million ($54.4 million), from SEK 401 million ($37.9 million) in 2024. The undated corporate profile still says Trustly has been "consistently maintaining profitability".
On 27 August 2026 Trustly's second-quarter release said transaction payment value rose 26% to SEK 295.9 billion and revenue rose 6.2% to SEK 634.2 million. Americas revenue was SEK 388.1 million, up 20%, or 24% in constant currency. Tjärnberg called the US push "a deliberate choice to invest heavily in the US market", with the rest of 2026 aimed at "disciplined, profitable growth". The October letters fund AI products. They do not say they fund the job cuts.
Rivals are buying, or standing aside
No customer bank and no supervisor is quoted on the letters. The same day's industry comment was about consolidation, not this cheque. Stefano Vaccino, founder and chief executive of Yapily, told Tech.eu that Yapily preferred "to remain on the sidelines for the moment and focus on organic growth and sustainable growth". He was answering a question about mergers, not about Trustly. That piece also noted Paypoint's purchase of obconnect and TrueLayer's purchases of in3 and pay-by-bank firm Zimpler, and put Yapily's 2025 result at a £355,000 profit on £16.7 million of turnover, against a £16.2 million loss the year before. Trustly's two longest holders are still writing equity.
Wero has joined Bancomat and Bizum in a Madrid payments hub, and Brite Payments has opened UK Pay by Bank after a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) licence. Trustly's letters are a product bet, closer to CellPoint's Zenith, an AI layer above payment orchestration, than to a scheme merger. The spread in pay-by-bank sits in the decision, not only the transfer.
November 2026 is the company's own horizon. If BlackRock and the other holders pass, more than $40 million is the number, and it buys software rather than a new geography the release does not promise. If they join, the figure Trustly has refused to fix is the one that counts. The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, the FCA, France's Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) and US state regulators supervise Trustly, the release says, and none is quoted on the letters. Completion, not a valuation, is the missing document.
Reporting by Rick Steves. Filed 5 October 2026, 14:51 GMT.
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011.
