Published on January 30th, 2023

ING Bank N.V., the Dutch international bank, has announced a new multiyear agreement with the payment services company Worldline to handle credit and debit card processing and issuing.

Worldline to Issue Debit and Credit Cards for ING

According to the press release from Monday, Wordline will focus on supporting ING's issuing operations in the countries of Benelux and Germany. ING decided to outsource the process to cut costs and increase efficiency while benefiting from Worldline's know-how and technology.

"ING and Worldline have been partners in various countries for over three decades. We are very proud that ING is not only prolonging this partnership but also extending the number of countries and services. By outsourcing card issuing processing services to us, ING can focus on creating value for their customers by re-inventing digital journeys," Alessandro Baroni, the Chief Business Divisions Officer & Deputy Head of Financial Services at Worldline, said.

In different markets, ING uses various payment companies for card issuing. In Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, the international bank decided to rely on Worldline, providing customers with access to an extended list of issuing solutions that fully comply with local and global regulations.

"This agreement highlights Worldline's unique position in being able to support banks in their outsourcing strategy. Not only the Netherlands but across Europe – and beyond," Baroni added.

Wordline Reported 10% Growth

According to the most recent financial report from Q3 2022, Worldline reported 10% year-over-year (YoY) organic growth in the three months ended in September 2022, with revenue at €1,158 million. Merchant Services recorded the strongest revenue growth, reaching € 828 million, compared to €729 million reported in the same period a year earlier.

The result is in line with that of the first half of 2022 when Worldline's revenues grew by 12.6% YoY to €2,020 million.

"Worldline executed a very satisfactory first half of the year with strong organic growth of 12.6%, accelerating again in Q2, confirming, 18 months after the start of the Ingenico integration, the power of our enhanced competitive positioning. This performance was, in particular, reached thanks to the very dynamic growth in Merchant Services with a steady expansion of acquiring volumes, a solid merchants count deployment, and numerous new large merchant wins and partnerships," Gilles Grapinet, Worldline's CEO, commented.

In H1, the payment industry giant achieved several milestones, including closing the acquisition of Axepta Italy. Then in July, the company announced the addition of Italy's Banco Desio's merchant acquiring activities for $100 million.

Listed on Euronext Paris, the company ended 2022 down 25%, but it is up 12% in the current year. Worldline shares cost almost €41, bouncing off six-year lows tested in early January.

Original article: *ING Taps Worldline for Multiyear Deal in Cards Issuing***

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