Bank-to-Bank Rewards | Trilo

Open banking facilitates direct bank-to-bank payments, potentially allowing businesses to process transactions without incurring charges from traditional payment networks like Visa, Mastercard, or providers such as Stripe. However, the primary obstacle isn't simply the technical implementation of open banking payment options – numerous technology providers already offer these solutions – but rather encouraging customers to adopt a payment method with which they may not be familiar.

Fintech company Trilo proposes that offering customers incentives for utilizing open banking, such as cashback or exclusive benefits, alongside a streamlined payment process, is the key. The U.K.-based company is officially launching its alpha program today.

Beyond challenging the dominance of Visa and Mastercard, open banking payments have the potential to decrease card-related fraud, resulting in reduced costs for businesses beyond just transaction fees and fewer complications for customers. Achieving widespread adoption of this new payment method is crucial to realizing these benefits.

“Open Banking holds significant promise, but consumers like you and I currently lack a compelling reason to use it,” states Blythe. “Without a user experience that is both enjoyable, rewarding, and straightforward, it will be difficult to gain traction.”

To address this, Trilo integrates an open banking payments API with incentives and rewards for customers who choose bank-to-bank transfers. The company is also moving away from transaction fees for merchants, opting instead for a monthly subscription model similar to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

“We’ve eliminated transaction fees entirely,” explains Blythe. “Our merchant partners also receive their funds in an average of 5 minutes, enabling faster redeployment of capital… [and] customers receive a benefit with every payment. Our core differentiator is our focus on you, ensuring your experience is as pleasant, simple, and rewarding as possible, whether it’s a 1% discount, a complimentary beverage, or an upgrade – businesses provide a substantial incentive to discontinue card usage.”

More generally, Blythe asserts that open banking provides a startup like Trilo with the opportunity to compete with “the largest duopoly in existence.”

“However, to accomplish this, we must offer the most straightforward and convenient payment method available to consumers,” he says, “while also providing significant rewards when they pay. Our network also allows us to facilitate refunds, consumer protection, and a variety of other advantages that standard open banking alone cannot provide.”

To make a payment with Trilo, users simply scan a QR code or click the Trilo button on a partner merchant’s website or application. The user’s device will be recognized via a cookie, displaying the payee, the bank involved, and the available reward, with the payment amount clearly shown. “Upon tapping ‘pay,’ you’ll be directed to your banking app, where you can securely complete the transaction with a single tap,” Blythe clarifies.

To launch Trilo’s alpha program and showcase the payment process, Trilo is collaborating with Make It Wild, an organization dedicated to reforesting large areas of the U.K. to restore the natural ecosystem. “With our alpha, you’ll be able to fund a tree for £5 using Trilo, and importantly, because it’s using Trilo, every single penny will go towards the trees,” adds the Trilo founder.