In light of the new partnership between Equens and Worldline, forged in November 2015, could you reveal Worldline’s next steps?
Through the digital disruption on the one hand, and regulatory changes on the other hand, the European market is going towards more consolidation. Both financial institutions and merchants face challenges with the increase of regulatory constraints: handling digital changes, new technologies around payments and the lowering barriers between countries. The reason behind the transaction between Worldline and Equens is to provide each other with scale and know-how. Our partnership offers the latest technology on a timely basis to the market. In terms of credit card transactions, we intend to move up to a hundred million cards under our management and processing and to increase not only our financial processing power but also our merchant acquisition.
As stated within the IPO in 2014, Worldline’s strategy is to continue this trend of mergers and acquisitions. In February 2016, we formed an alliance with Komercní Banka, a Czech subsidiary of Société Générale Group, to acquire their merchant portfolio and then boost development in the region.
What options do you see for Worldline to facilitate banks’ activity and collaborate with FinTech?
We think that we have a major role to play in helping banks face the PSD2. PSD2 increases the risk of disintermediation for banks and generates additional costs. For example, banks need to give access to their customers’ bank accounts to third parties who want to provide them with dedicated services. These third parties are then able to initiate payments on the customer’s behalf or provide information on account situation, potentially decreasing contact points and relationship between banks and their customers. The constraint on banks is thus very big. Therefore, they need to proactively launch actions to prevent disintermediation.
How can Worldline help? Banks have to back the strategy on one of their key assets, the trusted relationship they have with their clients: they should provide to their clients the best and most secure experience in terms of access to their accounts, associated services and control of payment authorisations. Historically, Worldline has a very solid set of solutions for mobile banking and strong authentication. One of them secures the user experience, from online banking, in all aspects of the client relationship, to any payment situation. Whatever the channel, the user is protected in a consistent and friendly way. Mobile banking and payments are the most demanding fields for these leading edge authentication technologies.
We have also invested in several value-added services, like big data, to provide the bank and their customers with valuable information based on customer data analysis, in a shared and agreed way.
How is Worldline currently positioned with regard to pan-European, omnichannel payment solutions for large merchants?
It is now clear that customers are expecting an easy and seamless shopping experience, with payments at the heart of it, to enable cross-channel paths to purchase. Indeed, today we see that there are as many shopping journeys as customers. Some are putting their smartphone at the centre of all the interactions with merchants, and some would rather use many channels and prefer a real interaction at the shop whereas being recognised as a returning customer. Addressing these new customer needs reveals for merchants challenges like securing the payments without compromising the experience or increasing the average basket and the conversion rate.
Worldline is looking for new solutions that really enable the customers’ journey making payments effortless and completely integrated in the whole buying experience. Besides, Worldline is aware that, depending on each country, customers have local buying habits, and that is why we work to provide merchants with the best payment solutions to meet local needs and optimise their activity.
Worldline is a reliable partner that will help merchants to be continuously differentiating as our solutions are evolving along with the fast-paced changes in terms of technologies and customers’ expectations.
About Marc-Henri Desportes
Marc-Henri Desportes is general manager at Worldline. Marc-Henri Desportes is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and of the Ecole des Mines de Paris. He was Deputy Program Director of the Copernic programme at the French Ministry of Finances from 2000 to 2005, and then was in charge of audit coordination at BNP Paribas from 2005 to 2006. Mr. Desportes was then CIO at BNL, BNP Paribas’ Italian subsidiary. He joined Atos in 2009 as Director of Global Innovation Business Development & Strategy and then became Director of the High Technology Settlement Services and Specialized Activities Business Unit in July 2011. Mr. Desportes is a member of the executive committee of Atos SE and has been SEVP of the Company and General Manager of Worldline since July 2013.
About Wordline
Worldline is a European payments and transactional services industry provider. Worldline delivers new-generation services, enabling its customers to offer smooth and innovative solutions to the end consumer. With 40 years + of experience, Worldline supports and contributes to the success of all businesses and administrative services in a perpetually evolving market. Worldline offers a unique and flexible business model built around a global and growing portfolio, thus enabling end-to-end support.
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