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APIs · head to head

Synctera vs Trustly

Synctera logo

Synctera

APIs

Banking-as-a-service platform that brings its own sponsor bank and compliance tooling

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trustly logo

Trustly

APIs

Pay-by-bank payments network, majority-owned by private equity firm Nordic Capital

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Synctera implementation fee, platform fee and monthly minimum are all charged and none are published, so a programme cannot model its fixed cost floor without a sales process, and at low volume those fixed fees rather than transaction pricing determine your economics.; Trustly it is majority-owned by Nordic Capital, a private equity firm, so its long-term roadmap is ultimately oriented toward an eventual sale or IPO rather than indefinite independent operation.
  • They diverge on capability: Synctera covers Sponsor bank matching, Trustly covers Pay by bank checkout.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Synctera and Trustly actually diverge.

Attributes where Synctera and Trustly differ
AttributeSyncteraTrustly

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, API), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Synctera

  • Sponsor bank matching
  • Accounts and ledger
  • Card issuing
  • Money movement
  • KYC and KYB
  • Transaction monitoring
  • Shared bank dashboard
  • Lending support

Only in Trustly

  • Pay by bank checkout
  • Instant refunds
  • Verified payouts
  • Multi-market bank connectivity
  • Merchant dashboard and reconciliation
  • Fraud and risk tooling

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Synctera

  • A software company adding branded debit cards and accounts that has no appetite for sourcing and negotiating with a sponsor bank itselfnot Trustly
  • A fintech whose current bank partner is exiting the programme and needs a replacement with the oversight tooling already in placenot Trustly
  • A community bank that wants to run a fintech sponsorship line of business without building transaction monitoring and reconciliation from scratchnot Trustly
  • A B2B platform issuing spend cards to its customers that needs KYB, monitoring and card issuing from one contractnot Trustly

Trustly

  • An e-commerce merchant wanting a lower-cost alternative or complement to card payment acceptancenot Synctera
  • A gaming or gambling operator needing verified, instant payouts to players' bank accountsnot Synctera
  • A merchant wanting instant refunds processed directly to a customer's bank account rather than card reversal delaysnot Synctera
  • A business in a market with strong open banking adoption wanting pay-by-bank as a checkout optionnot Synctera

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Synctera

  • Implementation fee, platform fee and monthly minimum are all charged and none are published, so a programme cannot model its fixed cost floor without a sales process, and at low volume those fixed fees rather than transaction pricing determine your economics.
  • The sponsor bank remains a third party whose risk appetite governs what you can launch, and a bank exiting or tightening its programme can force product changes you did not choose, which has happened repeatedly across the sector.
  • Onboarding runs on bank timelines, so several months typically pass between contract and first live customer while compliance policies and flow of funds are reviewed by both Synctera and the bank.
  • Coverage is United States focused, so a fintech with cross-border plans needs an entirely separate stack for other markets rather than an extension of this one.
  • Sitting between you and the bank means Synctera is another party in the reconciliation chain, and when balances disagree you are coordinating between two organisations rather than one, which lengthens incident resolution.

Trustly

  • It is majority-owned by Nordic Capital, a private equity firm, so its long-term roadmap is ultimately oriented toward an eventual sale or IPO rather than indefinite independent operation.
  • Consumer familiarity with paying by bank transfer still lags card payments in most markets, so merchants typically see it used as a secondary option rather than a full card replacement.
  • The 1.15 to 3.15% merchant fee range is not a single published rate, so a merchant cannot know its actual cost without a sales negotiation.
  • As with all open banking-dependent payment methods, reliability depends on the consistency of the underlying banks' own APIs, which Trustly does not control.
  • Its verified payout functionality is heavily used in gaming and gambling, a sector with additional regulatory scrutiny, which is worth factoring in when evaluating vendor risk exposure by association.

Pricing, plan by plan

Synctera

On request
  • Synctera Platform$undefined/year
    • Sponsor bank relationship included
    • Accounts, ledger and card issuing
    • ACH, wire and instant rails

Trustly

On request
  • Trustly$undefined/month
    • Typical merchant cost of 1.15% to 3.15% depending on volume and market
    • Exact rate negotiated per merchant, not published as a flat card

Which should you pick?

Choose Synctera if

  • You need sponsor bank matching.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want accounts and ledger.
Synctera review

Choose Trustly if

  • You need pay by bank checkout.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want instant refunds.
Trustly review

Questions people ask

Is Synctera or Trustly better?
Neither clearly leads. Synctera starts at On request and Trustly at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Synctera or Trustly?
Synctera starts at On request and Trustly at On request.
Does Synctera or Trustly run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Synctera best used for?
Synctera is most often used for a software company adding branded debit cards and accounts that has no appetite for sourcing and negotiating with a sponsor bank itself, a fintech whose current bank partner is exiting the programme and needs a replacement with the oversight tooling already in place, a community bank that wants to run a fintech sponsorship line of business without building transaction monitoring and reconciliation from scratch, a b2b platform issuing spend cards to its customers that needs kyb, monitoring and card issuing from one contract. Of those, a software company adding branded debit cards and accounts that has no appetite for sourcing and negotiating with a sponsor bank itself and a fintech whose current bank partner is exiting the programme and needs a replacement with the oversight tooling already in place are not what Trustly is typically brought in for.
What can Synctera do that Trustly cannot?
Synctera covers Sponsor bank matching, Accounts and ledger, Card issuing, Money movement. Trustly covers Pay by bank checkout, Instant refunds, Verified payouts, Multi-market bank connectivity.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Synctera: Does Synctera provide the bank?

Yes. Unlike a pure technology vendor, Synctera contracts with sponsor banks and brings one into your programme.

Trustly: Who owns Trustly?

Nordic Capital, a private equity firm, holds a 51.1% majority stake; Alfven & Didrikson and BlackRock hold smaller stakes.

Synctera: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Expect an implementation fee, a recurring platform fee and a monthly minimum, plus usage charges.

Trustly: Is Trustly going public?

It has discussed an IPO but as of its most recent comments said one remained at least a year away.

Synctera: How long does it take to launch?

Plan for months, not weeks, because both Synctera and the sponsor bank run compliance diligence on your programme.

Trustly: What does it typically cost a merchant?

Roughly 1.15% to 3.15% of transaction value depending on volume and market, negotiated per merchant.

Synctera: Is it available outside the United States?

Its focus is the United States; it has offered Canadian capability but non-US coverage is limited.

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