Trustly CEO: IPO Is Still 1 to 2 Years Away Despite Profit Jump

The CEO of Swedish FinTech Trustly says going public is not yet on the company’s radar.

Speaking to CNBC Thursday (May 30), Johan Tjarnberg said that although his company just recorded a 51% increase in operating profit, it still has to sell its business model to investors before it can consider a public listing.

“We need another year or two to really demonstrate to the market that open banking is happening, it’s here,” Tjarnberg said.

“For me, there is so much we want to demonstrate to the market in terms of user adoption, merchant adoption. We still need some time to execute on our existing playbook.”

CNBC notes that Trustly is putting off an IPO despite showing strong financials. Results provided to the network show the company saw $265 million revenues for 2023, with transaction volumes leaping 48% year over year in the second half of the year.

Tjarnberg told CNBC that Trustly’s U.S. business had helped fuel this performance. The  company merged with American competitor PayWithMyBank in 2020.

PYMNTS spoke earlier this week with Trustly Vice President of Enterprise Growth Ross McFerrin to get his thoughts on the main drivers of payments modernization for the series “What’s Next in Payments: Payments Modernization.”

“The payments industry is constantly evolving, and when you look at the U.S. in a very card-dominated market, you’re seeing a material shift right now,” McFerrin said.

He pointed to open banking, changing consumer preferences, and advances in tech such as the rise of artificial intelligence as fueling this shift.

While open banking is not a new concept globally, the potential for its upcoming regulatory adoption in the United States could usher in a new era as banks are required to provide secure access to their data to third-party service providers, leading to more integrated and user-friendly financial services.

As open banking regulations mature and faster payment systems become more prevalent, McFerrin stressed that the landscape should expect a wider adoption of seamless, real-time payment solutions that foster “very tangible benefits” for businesses and end-users.

Earlier this year, Trustly founder Alex Gonthier contributed to the PYMNTS Q1 eBook, “The Implications of Uncertainty,” writing about how the pandemic has transformed how — and from where — consumers shop.

“The economy is still feeling the aftermath of the pandemic, which completely disrupted the way we live and work,” Gonthier wrote. “In the U.S., consumers changed their physical location, their shopping habits and their spending patterns, leaving businesses guessing who they’re working with and what their customers may need.”