- Move will see enhancement of cross border payments services in many European countries
- Deal also set to see Worldline contribute services to German firm Payone due to Ingenico’s stake
- “Payone will also benefit from the power of our new group and from its state-of-the-art technologies to accompany its clients globally”, said Worldline CEO
Payments services provider Worldline has announced that it will acquire Ingenico, a multi-channel payments platform for commerce.
The deal looks set to give Worldline what it called the “most extensive geographical footprint providing a strong commercial advantage to offer seamless cross-border payment transactions”.
It is understood that the international money transfer capacities of Worldline will significantly increase as part of the acquisition process.
It will give Worldline a step up in key markets such as Germany, as well as in other key regions like the Nordic countries.
The firm is already a market leader in other parts of the continent, such as the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
There will be an added level of benefit in that the firm will now be able to penetrate more of the US market too.
Ingenico is a key provider of payments services and works with over 550,000 merchants on a direct basis.
It also provides lots of payments solutions including in-store terminals, online payment processing and many more.
It works in 170 countries around the world and has around 8,000 staff members.
It is based in Paris and has been in business since 1980.
Worldline claimed that the deal would allow it to “consolidate its existing position within the European payments landscape”.
It said that it would lead to the firm “reaching c. € 300 billion of purchase volume acquired and a c. 20% European market share in Financial Services”.
In a further sign of the deal’s significance, which has been described by Worldline as “industry defining”, the newly combined company will support its controlling stake in the firm Payone.
Payone is a joint venture which is partially controlled by Ingenico and partly by a German savings bank group called DSV.
According to Gilles Grapinet, who serves as Worldline’s chairman and chief executive officer, this impact on the payments sector is important.
“In the context of the announced combination, Worldline is particularly pleased with the perspective of establishing through the Payone joint-venture a new strategic partnership with Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, a leading European banking group”, he said.
“Payone, leading merchant payment service provider in Germany, will benefit from a reinforcement of its positions thanks to the contribution Worldline’s similar activities in Germany and in Austria.
“Payone will also benefit from the power of our new group and from its state-of-the art technologies to accompany its clients globally”, he added.
Mergers and acquisitions can have a big effect on the way the online money transfer industry operates.
Find out more information about it and the sector in general over at our news pages.
