While cashless has been available in casinos for several years, there’s a better first-step way to do it uniquely enabled by Trustly, the fintech company that specializes in Open Banking Payments solutions that enables customers to conduct transactions directly from their bank accounts, according to Darren White, Director of Gaming at Trustly.
White said the first edition of cashless didn’t focus on getting the simple cashless funding part right, resulting in a friction-filled enrollment and utilization experience for the player and limited adoption. That first edition required many steps versus cashless-enabled by Trustly, which is much more streamlined, White noted.
“The biggest thing I have found in the industry is even though everybody uses payments in their real life, they haven’t been part of the casino floor,” White said. “There’s this confusion that’s happening between what’s really a digital payment versus what is a custodial account product such as e-wallets. They serve a great purpose as e-wallets provide a way for people to sign up for a bank account and have payments set up to deposit into that account. What we’re doing is the difference between the ice maker and the ice tray. We’re the ice maker. What do you need an ice tray for?”
Trustly enables the casino management system and its cashless wagering functionality to put credits directly on the gaming device in a fashion that eliminates all the friction, and its Pay By Bank will restore operators’ faith in cashless because it’s frictionless by design, he added.
“It’s definitely disruptive technology for those developing wagering account wallet and e-wallet products that require KYC (Know Your Customer processing),” White said. “We are taking progressive steps. Let’s first get money directly transferred onto the machines through a feasible digital payment, and then we’ll progress people to a wallet (in the future). The app and the wallet have so much friction that it just didn’t work with little adoption.”
With Trustly, there’s no need for apps, no account sign up and no player cards. The player simply scans a QR code and logs in with their online banking credentials, since 96% of Americans have a bank account.
“Unfortunately, the examples we can make with casinos that have tried 100% cashless floors is that you sign up to the player loyalty club, download an app, set up passwords and do KYC and then you sign up for an e-wallet product and attach payments into it,” White said. “There’s so much friction even in repeated use. What we’re about is we’re the payment product that uniquely enables the system to be able to eliminate all of those things.”
Trustly’s solution has identity verification seamlessly integrated into its payment product. There’s no need for players to have to show their ID at the cage to prove their identity, White said.
Trustly’s guaranteed payments ensure that funds are accessible immediately, since the solution is a direct bank payment, connecting operators with consumers directly, White said.
“Everything we do is about assuring the player feels secure and confident,” he explained. “They are about to sign into their bank.”
It’s dependable because it has 99.99% uptime and is connected to 12,000 banks worldwide, including 8,000 in North America, White noted. Trustly was founded in 2008 and has processed over $500B in total payments value globally since inception.
Trustly provides this solution at a higher approval rate than credit cards and debit cards at a much lower cost, he said.
There’s round-the-clock customer support through chat, phone and email. The proprietary risk engine is designed to maximize approvals while minimizing risk.
“Trustly takes on the risk that when it approves the transaction, we guarantee the money is going to go to the casino,” said White.
Trustly’s notable gaming partners and customers over the years include Light & Wonder, IGT, Konami, Acres, CasinoTrac, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital and Station Casinos. It provides services for sports betting and icasinos in addition to its function for slots with the QR code.
Trustly has partnered with Light & Wonder to bring cashless, in-person transfers to casino floors using Light & Wonder’s RAPIDPLAY powered by Trustly, offering instant transfers from player bank accounts via personal devices. They’re getting ready to deploy it in a few casinos, including in Nevada and the Viejas Casino & Resort in Southern California.
Trustly is also partnered with IGT, Acres, Konami and CasinoTrac, who are also implementing the solution uniquely enabled by Trustly, White said. He started working with companies in January 2023, and the function was demonstrated at G2E in 2023.
“I presented to each of the system companies to implement because this goes through the CMS system,” he said. “That means it is going through all the right accounting. We’re not trying to go around the system. “
White said that their initial focus is putting money on the slot machine and players can take money off with TITO and put it in the next machine. A future phase will allow players to take the money off of the machine and put it back into their bank accounts, especially if they hit a jackpot. Another phase will be moving that money to a wallet in an app.
“This industry tends to throw everything in the kitchen sink all at once, and it falls on its face,” White said. “Walk. Run, Sprint.”
