SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Vasilije Lekovic, Director of Gaming Accounts at Trustly, spoke to SBC News about the impact Pay N Play® has on the registration and account verification process, how it has become an “industry standard” in Sweden, and why a new addition to the Pay N Play family is ready to revolutionise conversion from affiliate websites.
SBC: Can you quickly summarise what Pay N Play is, and why it should be of real interest to those active in the sports betting and gaming industry?
VL: Pay N Play is an innovative product introduced by Trustly in 2015 that simplifies the gaming user experience by allowing the user to register and get verified for playing at a gaming website by simply making a deposit with Trustly.
Through our product capabilities, we collect the verified KYC data on the user during the deposit process so they don’t need to fill lengthy registration forms or send passport copies/utility bills to prove their identity.
Instead, the user leads with a deposit directly from their bank; the player account is then created and verified in the background while the player is prompted straight to playing.
This product should be of great interest to the whole industry because it has proven to be a very powerful acquisition, conversion and reactivation tool and it has become an industry standard in some markets (e.g. Sweden).
SBC: There are two main models of Pay N Play for operators to be aware of, Pure and Hybrid; can you explain the key differences?
VL: The Pure model is the most simple and most successful model of Pay N Play. In this model, Trustly is the only registration, login and payment method and the user is offered a clean and simplified experience.
On the other hand, the Hybrid Pay N Play is a model where Trustly is one of the registration and login methods (together with the regular registration form and username/password) and one of the payment methods offered in the cashier (but not the only one).
The Hybrid model is more suitable for the big brands that don’t want to strip down their websites to Trustly only but still want to offer to their users the Pay N Play experience.
SBC: Some industry observers incorrectly refer to Pay N Play as a ‘no-registration’ product; why is this inaccurate?
VL: One of the key USPs of Pay N Play is that it enhances the registration and player account verification process. The account is always created, it’s just not created by the player but by the operator with the verified KYC data that Trustly provides.
In this way, the operator has a simplified and secure player account verification process while the player has a frictionless user journey and a much faster way from landing on a gaming website for the first time to actually playing.
SBC: How does Pay N Play enable operators to bundle the deposit and registration process while staying compliant with strict KYC regulations?
VL: The way Trustly’s product works is that we are able to collect the verified KYC data on the user during the deposit process, both from the user’s bank but also other KYC data sources and providers. As you mentioned, with Pay N Play we’re bundling the registration and deposit, therefore shortening the journey before the user can start playing. It is one of the reasons why this product is so popular among the users.
SBC: In fact, it is fully compliant with both the Malta Gaming Authority and the Swedish Gambling Authority; how has it been received in Sweden so far?
VL: Yes, the product is fully compliant with MGA, SGA, Estonian Gaming Authority and we are in the process of getting the approval from other gaming authorities in Europe.
The product has been a total success in Sweden so far and it has become an industry standard, with over 70 brands implementing it, as well as several other payment companies trying to replicate our product.
SBC: Operators are fearful of ‘churn’ at various phases of the player journey including at registration, verification, deposits and withdrawals; which phase do you think Pay N Play has had the most impact upon in Sweden?
VL: Pay N Play as a product has helped to address the main churn points during the user journey, but most significantly at the account creation and verification process through bundling the registration with a deposit.
SBC: And what does your research tell you about how this varies for different markets? For example, is the proportion of the churn problem weighted differently for mature markets against those still finding their feet?
VL: I think that the churn rate depends on many factors, the maturity of the market being one of those. However, the existence of innovative solutions such as Trustly’s Pay N Play, as well as technologically advanced verification tools and payment methods are key factors in decreasing the user churn looking from our experience in different markets.
SBC: Finally, what does the future hold for Pay N Play? Are you working on any new developments to the product?
VL: Taking into account that Pay N Play has been a great success so far, we are actively working on rolling this product out in new markets, as well as offering new features and functionalities based on Pay N Play.
One of those features that we launched recently is called In-banner Pay N Play and we believe that this feature will revolutionise how the users get converted on affiliate websites.
In-banner Pay N Play uses the same technology as Pay N Play, but delivers it on an affiliate site. So the user clicks on a banner at an affiliate website and can make a Trustly deposit directly from the banner, with his player account being registered and verified in the background.
This feature can be implemented in various gaming verticals, bundling the registration and deposit with placing a sports bet, lottery ticket or simply playing a slot game.
