Since 2019: independent company and recent evolutions
In May 2019, Worldline gained independence when Atos’ shareholders approved the plan to redistribute 23.4% of Worldline shares to their investors. Atos still remained Worldline's main shareholder at 27% just ahead of the SIX Group but lost the possibility to control its finances.
In September 2019, Worldline announced the completion of the acquisition of the 36.4% minority interest in equensWorldline, hence becoming the sole owner of equensWorldline.[25]
In February 2020, Worldline announced the acquisition of Ingenico, the world leader in payments POS market and in merchant services, for €7.8 billion. The shareholders of Worldline would retain a 65% stake and those of Ingenico 35%.[26] Following this announcement, Atos announced the sale of a 13.1% stake, keeping only a 3.8% stake in Worldline. In parallel, Bpifrance announced the increase of its stake in the company.[27]
In March 2020, Worldline entered the CAC 40,[28] the flagship index of the Paris stock market, which mainly reflected the evolution of the Group's liquidity and market capitalization from €2.2 billion in June 2014 at the time of its listing on the stock exchange to more than €11 billion when it entered the CAC 40.
In April 2020, Worldline announced the acquisition of GoPay through the purchase of 53% of its shares.[29] The company also announced the contemplated purchase of all remaining shares for 2022. GoPay is a specialist in online payments in Eastern Europe. Through this acquisition, Worldline intended to reinforce its offers to merchants and to strengthen its position in Eastern and Central Europe.
In May 2020, its CEO Gilles Grapinet announced the creation of EDPIA (the European Digital Payment Industry Alliance),[30] a professional organization bringing together the main European companies specializing in electronic payments (Ingenico, Nets, Nexi, and Worldline), and which has set itself the objective of better coordinating the representation of major industrialists in the sector with European authorities and other stakeholders in the payments ecosystem. Gilles Grapinet is its first president.
In July 2021, the Group announced the purchase of 80% of Axepta Italy, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, for 180 million euros.[31]
In October 2021, Worldline announced its Q3 2021 revenue and, as planned at the time of the Ingenico's acquisition, the new governance of the Group was implemented by the Board of Directors, with Bernard Bourigeaud appointed as Chairman while Gilles Grapinet remains CEO.[32]
In March 2022, Worldline, announced its business expansion to Japan, offering credit card payment processing for merchants nationwide.[33]
In February 2022, Worldline announced that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with the Apollo funds for the sale of its subsidiary TSS, which had taken over Ingenico's payment terminal activities, for 2.3 billion euros.[34] In April 2022, Worldline announces the acquisition of a 51% stake in ANZ Bank's electronic payments business for A$925 million.[35]
In April 2023, Crédit Agricole and Worldline enter into exclusive discussions to create a major player in merchant services in France. Both groups announce the contemplated creation of a joint company fully operational by 2025 combining Crédit Agricole’s merchant acquiring footprint, French market intimacy and distribution power with Worldline’s leading innovation, technology and global infrastructure.[36][37] In January 2024, Crédit Agricole SA acquired a minority stake of 7%.[38]
On 13 June 2024, at Worldline's Annual General Meeting and as announced on 21 March 2024, the Board of Directors decided, on the recommendation of the Nomination Committee, to appoint Mr Wilfried Verstraete as Chairman of the Board of Directors.[39]
On September 30, Gilles Grapinet stepped down as CEO and director of the company and Worldline is looking for a new CEO who will work with the Board of Directors to determine a new strategic plan. Marc-Henri Desportes, previously Worldline Deputy CEO and Head of Merchant Services, is acting as interim CEO.[40]
In November 2024 it became public that Worldline considers selling its Mobility and e-Transactional Services (MTS) business.[41]
On March 1, 2025, Pierre-Antoine Vacheron was appointed CEO, succeeding Marc-Henri Desportes.[42]
In June 2025 a network of international press researchers, operating under the name "Dirty Payments", accused the company of handling billions of euros in fraudulent or unethical payments over decades, using subsidiaries. The German based Payone, of which Worldline SA held 60%, was accused in 2023 by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of dealing with high risk customers, prone to Money laundering. Payone, by its own account, then cut ties with these customers in summer 2023, but they were apparently just handed over to another Worldline subsidiary, according to the researchers.[43][44] Dutch investigators accused the company of continuing to work with customers, who had been identified by Worldlines own risk assessment as problematic. The publication of the findings caused Worldlines share price on 25 June 2025 to fall by 21%.[45]
