Trading 212 launches instant bank deposits with TrueLayer

Trading 212 has launched automated instant deposits using TrueLayer's Bank on File payment system. The feature is now available with the UK's six largest banks.

It allows customers to fund investments directly from their bank accounts on a recurring basis without logging into their banking app for each payment. Trading 212 said the money is available to invest immediately after transfer.

The feature expands the company's existing automated investing offering, known as Pies, which lets users schedule investments. Until now, recurring funding relied on card payments or Direct Debit, which created delays or other friction for customers trying to automate regular investing, according to the company.

Bank on File is a recurring and one-click payment product from TrueLayer. It uses commercial Variable Recurring Payments, a framework introduced in the UK this year that allows customers to authorise a business to collect payments of varying amounts from a bank account within agreed limits, without requiring them to re-authenticate each time.

Customers can set up the mandate in their banking app in under a minute and then choose an AutoInvest schedule, Trading 212 said. After that, each deposit is taken directly from the customer's bank account and arrives instantly, according to the company.

Early data

Since the service went live in June, 97% of Bank on File payments have succeeded on the first attempt, according to the companies. The remaining failed payments were caused by insufficient funds rather than technical faults, they said.

The share of recurring deposits made through Bank on File has risen more than fivefold in less than four months, according to figures provided by the companies. Trading 212 also said the average payment made through the new system is more than 50% larger than the average card payment.

The figures reflect a wider effort by investment platforms to reduce payment friction that can disrupt regular investment plans. For retail brokers, recurring deposits matter because they can support more consistent account activity and reduce dependence on one-off top-ups.

For users, the appeal is simpler execution. Card payments can fail when details change or cards expire, while Direct Debit can take several days to clear. By contrast, fintech groups have positioned open banking-based payment methods as a way to move money directly from bank accounts with fewer steps.

"True automated deposits have been among our top requested features since day one. We pioneered automated investing with Trading 212's Pies, but the underlying payment rails were never designed for it. With TrueLayer's Bank on File, the missing piece of the puzzle is finally in place: our investors set their schedule once, and their wealth-building plan executes continuously and seamlessly," said Angel Milachov, Head of Growth at Trading 212.

The arrangement also gives TrueLayer another consumer-facing example of how open banking infrastructure is moving beyond account aggregation and single payments into repeat transaction flows. Its network is used by more than 30 million people across Europe, the company said.

Payments shift

The launch comes as fintech firms look for more practical uses of commercial Variable Recurring Payments in the UK. The model is intended to combine some of the convenience of card-on-file payments with direct bank-to-bank transfers, while avoiding card network fees and the delays associated with older bank payment methods.

That could be especially relevant for investment platforms built around regular saving and scheduled investing. If payments arrive instantly and are available to invest straight away, customers are less likely to face a gap between deciding to invest and their money being deployed.

Trading 212 plans to make Bank on File a default funding option at key points in the customer journey, indicating it sees the payment method as more than a niche tool for a small subset of active users.

"Automated deposits are the holy grail of retail investing, and they've been so hard to deliver because cards and Direct Debit were built for different jobs. Trading 212 shows what happens when you give people a payment method that just works: no card details to hand over, no expiry dates, just their own bank. They use it, and they invest more," said Francesco Simoneschi, Chief Executive Officer of TrueLayer.