Card issuing and ledger infrastructure provider Episode Six has partnered with Pay by Bank solutions provider Trustly. Through the collaboration, Episode Six will provide the issuer processing technology for Trustly’s new “card rail plugin integration,” a solution designed to enable US retail merchants to accept Pay by Bank payments directly through existing card networks.
The partnership aims to lower the adoption barriers for Pay by Bank in the United States, where demand for alternative payment options is rising but merchant uptake has been slower compared to other global markets.
By leveraging the familiarity of existing card infrastructure, the solution is intended to reduce costs, accelerate settlement and minimise fraud for retailers without requiring them to undertake costly new integrations or significant operational changes.
Lowering adoption barriers for US merchants
The collaboration enables merchants to offer a next-generation payment method while continuing to use the card rails they are already connected to. Trustly selected Episode Six for its modern, cloud-native platform, which provides the flexibility needed to support this hybrid use case.
“Merchants don’t want complexity. They want faster, safer payments that simply work,” said Brian Muse-McKenney, chief revenue officer at Episode Six. “By combining Trustly’s Pay by Bank leadership with Episode Six’s modern infrastructure, we’re showing how new payment experiences can scale on top of existing systems. It’s efficiency and speed without tradeoffs.”
For Episode Six, the partnership highlights its platform’s capability to support the launch of new payment models at scale for global payment leaders. For Trustly, it provides a new pathway to expand its Pay by Bank offering in the US market.
“Together with Episode Six, we’re making it much easier for merchants to bring Pay by Bank to checkout,” said Craig McDonald, chief business officer at Trustly. “Using the same card rails retailers rely on today means faster integration, quicker time to market, and lower costs by building on existing operations.”
A new model for payment innovation
According to the companies, proving that alternative payment methods can scale seamlessly through existing infrastructure sets a precedent for how innovation can be implemented efficiently across the broader fintech ecosystem.
Episode Six, a global provider of enterprise-grade card issuing and ledger infrastructure, operates in over 45 countries and serves more than 70 enterprise customers. Trustly, founded in 2008, reports that it processed nearly $100billion in total payments value in 2024, connecting over 9,000 merchants to 650 million consumers through 12,000 banks.
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