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TrueLayer launches PayDirect, a new approach to seamless online payments in iGaming

Published

5 years ago

January 26, 2021

George Miller

Reading Time: 3 minutes

PayDirect, a new service from the UK’s open banking leader, TrueLayer, combines one-click verification with instant deposits and withdrawals to deliver the most complete payments experience.

It delivers a higher-converting, lower-fraud payments approach when compared to card and bank transfer.

TrueLayer, the leading technology company building financial infrastructure that’s open to everyone today announced the launch of PayDirect, a new open banking-based payments method enabling iGaming firms to create a higher-converting, lower-fraud payments approach when compared to card and bank transfer. TrueLayer is working with a number of iGaming operators who are embracing opening banking as a more secure, cost-effective way to deliver superior player experiences.

Today, identity and verification flows and card-based payments typically generate avoidable friction along the customer journey, affecting adoption and retention rates and generating unnecessary costs. The introduction of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) this year adds another layer of friction to cards with workarounds that deliver a poorer customer experience.

PayDirect is the answer to those issues, enabling firms to stay compliant while delivering a frictionless customer experience. Built on open banking and the fastest available bank payment rails, it provides firms with instant payments and withdrawals, while accelerating KYC and AML processes, to deliver the most complete solution on the market.

“As players experience seamless digital services in other aspects of their lives, their expectations for iGaming are also changing. PayDirect builds on our payments expertise to solve some significant issues around onboarding, deposits and withdrawals to help operators deliver an experience that is fit for the digital age,” commented Ossama Soliman, Chief Product Officer at TrueLayer. “The ability to quickly and easily verify a customer’s identity, and move money instantly in and out of an account using bank to bank payments, while automatically complying with AML regulations, is hugely beneficial to both the player and the operator.”

With PayDirect iGaming operators, can deliver new levels of services to their customers, all from within their app, in a matter of minutes, through:

Account verification – Instantly verify account ownership based on what’s on file at a customer’s bank.
Instant account funding – users can initiate payments or move money between accounts effortlessly using open banking.
Seamless online payments – that reduce fraud and chargebacks at any checkout.
Instant withdrawals – users can initiate payouts, using the same method used for deposits, automatically meet AML requirements, while avoiding manual data entry like bank account number or IBAN.
Instant refunds – providing customers to access their money faster, compared with up to 5 days using cards.

PayDirect improves the player experience and delivers a number of significant benefits to iGaming operators, including:

Up to 3x faster onboarding: PayDirect gets players up and running in a matter of minutes, using open banking and biometric authentication that removes the need for users to remember usernames or passwords.
Higher payment conversion rates: Once a player has successfully executed a deposit, payment failures tend to be four times lower with PayDirect than cards (on average cards fail up to 15% of the time vs 3.5% with PayDirect). This means more efficient deposits and, more importantly, less time managing failed payments that can ultimately lead to customer churn.
Increased customer loyalty: Card deposits take up to 3 days to settle, whilst withdrawals can take up to 5 days. PayDirect increases retention by offering customers what they want, instant deposits and withdrawals. Recent research into the iGaming market by YouGov for TrueLayer (Q4 2020) found rapid deposits and payouts consistently topped the list of player priorities, with 8 out of 10 players rating fast payments as important – and they choose their operators accordingly.
Lower operating costs: PayDirect saves time and reduces cost by automating otherwise manual processes such as payment reconciliation or KYC checks. PayDirect also reduces costs when processing refunds, as they are automatically issued to the same bank account that was used to make the deposit. This reduces opportunities for human error compared to cheque or manual bank transfers as well as cutting down customer support cases on lost or never issued refunds.

Reduced risk and fraud: With PayDirect account ownership and authentication is handled by the player’s bank. No more chargebacks, no credential sharing or password storage. Service providers can also meet AML requirements by paying out via the same method used for deposits.
A fully white labelled payment method: integrated open banking capabilities, increase customer trust by the brand owning the end-to-end customer journey, and configuring payment flows.

“The race is on to reimagine the way people pay by leveraging Open Payments architectures. We have seen in banking and ecommerce that great onboarding and payments experiences increase conversion, trust, and retention. But many payment journeys today have not been designed for a digital first world,” added Francesco Simoneschi, co-founder and CEO at TrueLayer. “With PayDirect we’re calling time on cards and their monopoly. We have used our experience and expertise as a leading open banking platform to design a digital and mobile first payment product that combines instant bank payments with instant payouts, refunds and reconciliation capabilities. PayDirect delivers an effortless way to onboard new customers and enable them to quickly initiate payments and withdraw funds. It is the easiest way to create a better, safer and lower cost payments process.”

Altenar

Altenar launches Super Early Payout to boost World Cup engagement

Published

9 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Wladimir P.

altenar-launches-super-early-payout-to-boost-world-cup-engagement

Leading sportsbook provider Altenar has announced the launch of Super Early Payout to give soccer bettors more chance to celebrate winning moments before the final whistle.

The new promotion has gone live in time for the World Cup 2026 and means bettors who back a team in eligible markets will have their bet settled as a winner as soon as their selected team takes a one-goal lead, regardless of the final result.

This is an upgrade to the popular Early Payout offer, which requires a team to lead by two goals before qualifying bets are settled. Reducing the threshold to one goal allows Super Early Payout to deliver faster wins and an even more engaging betting experience.

Operators can configure the promotion for a specific team or both teams, while also having the option to replace the standard 1X2 market for a more prominent promotional experience.

Altenar has also brought greater flexibility to promotional campaigns with improvements to the Early Payout feature, which can now be applied directly to selected events rather than entire championships, making it easier to highlight key World Cup fixtures and other high-profile matches.

The enhancement supports both two-goal and three-goal Early Payout configurations and can also be applied to one or both teams. By moving beyond championship-wide set-ups, operators can create more targeted campaigns.

Expanded markets have also enriched Altenar’s soccer coverage at major tournaments such as the World Cup. New additions allow bettors more choice when it comes to player performance, including how goals or shots were made (by foot, header, outside the box etc).

Player specials have been expanded to include substitute coverage, allowing betting opportunities to remain relevant even when the originally selected player is replaced by a substitute.

A comprehensive range of player, team and match markets are also now available for matches that go to extra time, creating additional betting opportunities during the knockout stage of tournaments such as the World Cup.

These new features follow on from the World Cup Lobby, which was recently released by Altenar as a dedicated event hub designed to enhance player engagement and streamline navigation during the upcoming tournament.

Nikos Zygouris, Head of Sportsbook Product at Altenar, said: “At Altenar, we’re focused on giving our partners the flexibility to tailor their sportsbook experience to the needs of their customers.

“Super Early Payout allows operators to offer a more engaging soccer betting proposition, while our expanded range of markets means bettors have more choice than ever when it comes to placing bets on the markets which matter most to them.

“These enhancements combine greater promotional flexibility with deeper soccer coverage, helping operators maximise engagement throughout the World Cup.”

The post Altenar launches Super Early Payout to boost World Cup engagement appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Arnold Ash

Arnold Ash sponsors Arthurian League US tour ahead of 2026 Transatlantic Cup

Published

9 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Wladimir P.

arnold-ash-sponsors-arthurian-league-us-tour-ahead-of-2026-transatlantic-cup

Arnold Ash has agreed a sponsorship deal for the Arthurian League’s 2026 US Tour, which will culminate in the inaugural Transatlantic Cup on Friday 26 June in Philadelphia. The announcement was dated Friday 12th June 2026.

The Transatlantic Cup will be played during the 2026 World Cup and is framed by organisers as part of events marking 250 years of US independence. US amateur champions West Chester United SC, holders of the 2025 US Adult Soccer Association (USASA) National Amateur Cup, will host the Arthurian League representative side.

Arnold Ash’s logo will appear on the front of the touring team’s white and red England kit. The company said the headline partnership covers the full 12-day tour, including additional matches against New York Athletic Club and Boston Bolts, plus in-stadium branding at the ticketed fixture at Drexel University’s Vidal Athletic Complex and across event online and social channels.

Jon Arnold, CEO at Arnold Ash, said: “Arnold Ash has been a proud sponsor of the Arthurian League representative sides at major events before, but it doesn’t get any bigger than this. The team is hugely talented, made up of the top amateur players England has to offer and – as the best-of-the-best – reflect the Arnold Ash core principles of quality, experience and consistency.

“The World Cup is now underway, but for the next five weeks, the Transatlantic Cup is where the real action is at! We wish both England teams the best of luck stateside!”

Billy Jenkins, Manager of the Arthurian League representative team, said: “Arnold Ash’s sponsorship is hugely valuable to our team, and we are incredibly grateful for their continued backing of grassroots football.

“We are honoured to participate in the first-ever Transatlantic Cup and just like England’s professional team hope to be lifting prestigious silverware on US soil in the coming weeks.”

The post Arnold Ash sponsors Arthurian League US tour ahead of 2026 Transatlantic Cup appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Asia

Esports Foundation opens 2026 co-streaming Creator Program with $2m rewards pool

Published

9 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Wladimir P.

esports-foundation-opens-2026-co-streaming-creator-program-with-$2m-rewards-pool

The Esports Foundation (EF) has opened applications for its 2026 Creator Program, committing $2 million (~INR 19 crore) in rewards for co-streamers supporting the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Paris and the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) 2026 in Riyadh. EF announced the program on June 12, 2026, from Paris and Riyadh, and said applications are open now, including for creators across India.

EF said co-streaming was a key driver of EWC reach last year, citing 3,500 co-streamers as “one of the key growth pillars” for EWC viewership in 2025. The Foundation is positioning the 2026 Creator Program as a scaled-up initiative, targeting 5,000 creators “across new regions and platforms.”

“This isn’t just an esports trend; it’s a media trend,” said Wasae Imran, Director Broadcast & Distribution at the Esports Foundation. “Across music, video, news and sport, audiences don’t just watch what they’re given anymore. They choose their own experience: what to watch, where to focus, and how deep to go. Esports just lives further down that road than most, and traditional sport is heading the same way. It’s not about delivering a match in one format, it’s about opening up every way into the same moment and letting fans choose how they want to consume it. The Creators Program is how we build for that, by enabling the growth of creators that fans already trust to carry the world’s biggest esports event into every community.”

According to EF, approved creators can co-stream selected tournaments, complete missions, and progress a “Battle Pass” tied to rewards ranging from gift cards and hardware to platform perks and invitations to EWC and ENC. EF said the program supports multiple streaming platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, Bilibili, Huya, and CHZZK.

EF also confirmed operational details for EWC 2026: the event is set for Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from July 6 through August 23, featuring more than 2,000 players and 200 Clubs from over 100 countries across 25 tournaments and 24 games, with a $75 million+ prize pool. ENC 2026 is scheduled for November in Riyadh and will extend the creator program to a nation-based competition format.

The post Esports Foundation opens 2026 co-streaming Creator Program with $2m rewards pool appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.