get bonus. That comparison should sit alongside on-site tests before any permanent switch.
Scaling considerations — throughput, fraud, liquidity
– Throughput: ensure your settlement and ledger can process the maximum expected concurrent deposits — trust the load tests, not the vendor’s sales deck.
– Fraud: Trustly reduces card-fraud vectors but introduces account-takeover risks; monitor velocity, new-device flags, and deposit patterns.
– Liquidity: as volumes rise, settlement timing matters; negotiate net-settlement windows to avoid daily overdrafts on your merchant account.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
– Mistake: treating Trustly like “free money” for user experience without modeling costs. Fix: run a 90-day cohort model including increased playthrough and higher payout frequency.
– Mistake: failing to align KYC timing with deposits — leads to long payout holds. Fix: block withdrawals until core KYC fields validated.
– Mistake: weak reconciliation mapping (using only transaction amounts). Fix: always use Trustly reference IDs and session/order linking.
– Mistake: assuming universal availability — some banks or regions may have limited Trustly support; fix: feature-detect per-country and provide fallback methods.
Mini-FAQ (3–5 practical questions)
Q: Will Trustly eliminate fraud and chargebacks?
A: No. It reduces card-based chargebacks but introduces bank-account-focused risks; you still need fraud scoring and velocity controls, and that’s connected to merchant liability models which we’ll outline below.
Q: How does Trustly affect bonus abuse and bonus terms?
A: Faster deposits can make bonus exploitation quicker; mitigate by tying bonus eligibility to verified accounts and adding minimum playthrough rules that are enforceable through your ledger.
Q: Is it worth offering Trustly payouts or only deposits?
A: Deposits usually give the best ROI due to increased conversion; payouts add cost and complexity — consider offering instant payouts for VIP tiers only and standard bank transfers for everyone else.
Operational mini-case (hypothetical)
A mid-size Canadian casino tested Trustly for three months and saw registrations-to-deposit conversion rise by 8% among bank-preferring players while chargebacks dropped by 40% relative to cards. However, payout request volume rose 12%, forcing two more compliance hires. The net result: higher net revenue but increased OPEX — a predictable trade-off that can be optimized with stricter bonus rules and KYC timing.
Checklist before rollout (practical steps)
– Legal: confirm Trustly permitted under your gaming licenses and local payment regulations.
– Finance: model total cost, including FX and failed-transfer rate sensitivity.
– Ops: design dispute and returned-payment workflows; pre-assign case handlers.
– Tech: test webhooks, retries, and reconciliation in staging and load-test.
– Product: A/B test with a control group for conversion uplift and cost per deposit.
Implementation timeline (suggested)
– Week 0–2: commercial, legal, and sandbox access.
– Week 3–6: integration, mapping, and staging tests.
– Week 7–8: soft-launch to 10% of traffic and monitor KPIs.
– Week 9–12: full rollout with monitoring playbook and staffing.
Responsible gaming & compliance notes
Players must be 18+/21+ as per your jurisdiction — enforce age checks before offering payment rails. Maintain AML/KYC controls and transaction monitoring, document retention for regulatory audits, and provide clear self-exclusion and deposit-limits tools to reduce harm.
Sources
– Provider docs and sandbox testing observations (internal).
– Regulatory frameworks and standard industry practices (iGaming Ontario; general PSD2 implementation guidance).
– Operational benchmarks derived from neutral operator case studies.
About the author
I’m a payments and iGaming operations specialist with hands-on experience integrating bank-rail providers, running reconciliation teams, and scaling regulated casino platforms across Canadian and European jurisdictions. I’ve led multiple Trustly pilots and built the KYC/settlement playbooks that many teams reuse.
Disclaimer and responsible-play note
This article is informational and not financial or legal advice. Ensure compliance with local laws and licensing before changing payment rails, and always provide tools for responsible play including deposit limits, cooling-off, and self-exclusion.