Worldline, a global leader in payment services, announces the completion of its acquisition of Eurobank’s Merchant Acquiring business in Greece. Effective as of 30 June, Worldline has formed a joint venture with the bank in which it will hold 80% stake of the new company in Greece. Following its recent acquisition of Cardlink in Greece[1], this partnership marks a new significant step in Worldline’s strategy to position as the partner of choice for merchants in tech-driven markets like Greece.
Relying on its large distribution network, Eurobank is amongst the top prominent banks of Greece and one of the country’s largest acquirers, with more than 200 million transactions processed per year, representing a payment volume of c. € 7 billion[2] from a c.190,000 POS network.
In partnership with Eurobank, Worldline now serves a diversified and high-quality portfolio of 123,000 merchants, of which more than 50% are small and medium businesses[3].
In a region that is very much driven by the shift from cash to card, significant electronic payments adoption rate and online and e-commerce development, this acquisition is another opportunity for Worldline to expand its services for merchants in the Southern Europe, a dynamic market that is particularly fuelled by tourism and therefore offering exciting growth opportunities.
In Greece, Worldline will offer a strong value proposition to Eurobank’s merchant portfolio, covering needs of small and medium businesses as well as those of large retailers. The partnership will rely on Eurobank’s large merchants’ base in Greece, strong branch network, state-of-the-art card and non-card technology stack, as well as large scale and leading expertise in merchant acquiring services.
Through this combination, Worldline is ideally positioned to unlock the full potential of the Greek market and Eurobank Merchant Acquiring is the ideal cornerstone to further deploy Worldline payment offerings and value-added services capabilities in Greece.
The leading position of the combined entity including Cardlink and Eurobank, coupled with Worldline’s best-in-class technology and payment expertise, will provide merchants with a one-stop-shop offering, whilst customers will benefit from a premium and innovative customer experience.
Worldline’s products suite available for Greek merchants will include:
- Android POS – merchants can accept payments at the checkout or on the go through next generation POS, enabling them to serve their customers quickly and in the most secure way, with credit, debit and prepaid cards or digital wallet.
- Smart POS – enabling merchants to turn selected Android smartphones into a payments terminal to accept immediate payments from customers, by simply taping their payment method directly to the phone.
- E-commerce solutions – fostering merchants e-commerce business and helping them grow, supported by easy-to-use and secure solutions like e-Gateway, Payment Link and Live Pay, adapted to all business needs and sizes.
Gilles Grapinet, CEO of Worldline said: “I am very pleased that we can today officially launch our joint-company with such a leading banking partner as Eurobank, in Greece, that is a very strategic country for us. With Eurobank, we ambition to offer to all Greek merchants our best-in-class payment solutions, products and expertise that will make their business grow even further and we are proud to bring our contribution to the ambitious plans of the country and its government to accelerate digitization of its economy. For Worldline, this second major investment in the Greek market after our recent acquisition of Cardlink in 2021, is a testimony of our trust and commitment to Greece, its economy and its dynamic retail environment and a perfect example of the execution of our pan-European consolidation strategy.”
Fokion Karavias, CEO of Eurobank said:“We are pleased to partner with Worldline, a true leader in global payment services. Through our long-term partnership, our Greek customers will continue to enjoy best-in-class service in a rapidly evolving field. Greek businesses, both physical and online, will benefit from the products delivered by Worldline’s cutting-edge technologies through Eurobank’s retail network.”
