TrueLayer heads down under as it begins global expansion

Financial API provider TrueLayer has officially made the leap down under, appointing its first head of Australia to help run its operations in the country. 

Brenton Charnley will oversee the fintech’s Australian operations, help TrueLayer’s existing partners to launch in the country, bring new companies on board and also work towards gaining accreditation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to operate as an Accredited Data Recipient. 

Charnley joins TrueLayer from API insurtech platform Cover Genius, where he held both the chief operating officer and chief commercial officer roles in a three-year stint at the fintech. 

The incoming exec has long been at the forefront of the Australian fintech scene, co-founding insurtech industry body Insurtech Australia in 2017. 

Of his latest appointment, Charnley said: “I am honoured and excited to be joining TrueLayer at this pivotal time for open banking in Australia.” 

“TrueLayer is a proven global leader enabling banks and fintechs to thrive in the open banking economy by building APIs to securely access their customers’ banking data, verify their accounts and initiate payments in real-time.” 

TrueLayer is in the process of gaining its required licences to operate and will officially launch in Australia and early 2021. 

Marie Steinthaler, vice president of Global Go to Market at TrueLayer, who will continue to lead the Asia-Pacific Hub for TrueLayer, added: “[Brenton’s] experience and strong network, coupled with TrueLayer’s international track record, will be invaluable in helping our Australian clients make the most of the Consumer Data Right and future innovations in Australian fintech.” 

“His appointment is also a clear sign of our ongoing commitment to the Australian market and building a truly global infrastructure platform to open up finance.” 

TrueLayer says that its move down under has been possible thanks to its recent $25m Series C raise, which was led by existing investors Anthemis, Connect Ventures, Northzone and Temasek. 

The fintech has been incredibly busy throughout the pandemic, most recently TrueLayer helped open banking-powered banking app sync. to kick off its European expansion by launching in Spain in August and then, just a month later, launch in France and Ireland too. 

Last week it was announced that TrueLayer had been picked by Trading 212 to power its open banking, just over a month after it was revealed the API provider had launched a partnership with Trading 212’s rival Freetrade.