UK open banking fintech TrueLayer has secured a strategic investment from eBay, marking a significant commercial milestone for the payments infrastructure provider as it deepens its role in global ecommerce. The investment was made through eBay Ventures and comes alongside a new partnership that brings pay by bank functionality directly into eBay’s checkout experience, offering shoppers an alternative to traditional card payments.
Strategic backing from a global marketplace
While the size of the investment has not been disclosed, eBay joins an established group of TrueLayer backers that includes Stripe, Tiger Global, Tencent, and Temasek. For TrueLayer, the deal represents more than fresh capital. It signals validation from one of the world’s largest online marketplaces at a time when open banking payments are shifting from experimentation to real world scale.
The company said the investment reflects confidence in its execution and product innovation, highlighting how its infrastructure is increasingly being adopted by large global merchants. TrueLayer last raised external funding in 2024, when it secured $50 million in a round that valued the company below its previous unicorn status, amid a broader market reset for fintech valuations.
Pay by bank at checkout
The strategic investment coincides with the launch of an open banking payment option on eBay’s platform, powered by TrueLayer. The integration enables buyers to pay directly from their bank accounts at checkout, using instant bank authentication rather than card networks.
For merchants, pay by bank offers faster settlement times, reduced reliance on card schemes, and lower processing costs. For consumers, it provides a secure and streamlined payment experience that aligns with growing expectations around real time digital transactions.
Francesco Simoneschi, CEO and co-founder of TrueLayer, said that embedding the technology directly into eBay’s checkout allows bank authenticated payments to operate at global scale. He added that the partnership represents a step toward a real time payments ecosystem that better reflects how people expect to pay online today.
Diversifying eBay’s payment mix
From eBay’s perspective, the partnership supports its efforts to diversify payment options and reduce friction at checkout. Avritti Khandurie Mittal, vice president of product for eBay services, said that pay by bank plays an important role in expanding eBay’s payment mix by offering buyers a secure and real time way to pay directly from their bank accounts.
The move reflects a broader trend across ecommerce platforms, as large marketplaces explore alternatives to cards in order to improve conversion, reduce costs, and give customers greater choice.
Growing merchant adoption
eBay joins a growing list of major merchants using TrueLayer’s open banking payments infrastructure. The fintech already works with global brands including Amazon and Ryanair, positioning itself as a key provider of bank based payments across ecommerce, travel, and digital services.
TrueLayer’s platform enables merchants to initiate payments directly from customer bank accounts while handling authentication, compliance, and connectivity across multiple banking systems. As regulatory frameworks and consumer familiarity with open banking mature, adoption among large merchants has accelerated.
Financial performance and outlook
In the year ending 2024, TrueLayer reported revenues of £20.3 million, up from £12.4 million in 2023, reflecting strong growth in transaction volumes and merchant adoption. The company reduced its pre tax loss to £38.6 million in 2024, down from £55.6 million the previous year, as it continued to invest in product development and commercial expansion.
With strategic backing from eBay and deeper integration into global checkout flows, TrueLayer is positioning itself at the centre of the shift toward real time, account to account payments. As open banking moves further into the ecommerce mainstream, the company is betting that bank based payments will become a core part of how consumers pay online.
