Worldline’s New Financial Services Contracts Jump 91% as Pressure Persists
Key Facts
New contract bookings in Worldline’s financial services business have jumped 91% year to date, despite the ongoing impact of contract terminations on revenue, the company said in its third-quarter results statement issued on October 27, 2026. The company said the positive commercial momentum coexists with continuing pressure on the business, while growth in merchant services supported in-store and online sales. Worldline reaffirmed its outlook for the year, and Chief Executive Pierre-Antoine Vacheron said the group "remains on track to deliver its 2026 outlook." He added that merchant services posted good growth in most regions and sectors, and that the recovery in financial services continues to build. This puts investors’ focus on the company’s ability to turn contract momentum and operating growth into a broader improvement in its performance over the coming months.
Improved contract bookings do not offset the impact of ongoing terminations in financial services, as the company said cancellations continue to weigh on the business. By contrast, growth in merchant services supported sales through in-store and online channels, with good performance extending across most regions and sectors, according to Vacheron. The company said its net promoter score was 40 points, up 10 points from 2025, alongside a decline in the customer attrition rate. These indicators show improvement in some aspects of the customer experience and continued commercial momentum, alongside the challenge posed by terminated contracts. Vacheron said the recovery in financial services "continues to build," pointing to a recovery that remains under way.
Worldline continues to take operational steps as part of efforts to reorganize the business; migration of its small and medium-sized business customer portfolio from Ogone to GoPay is 98% complete. The company said progress in Italy is on plan, while its Western European workforce has fallen about 4% year to date. These steps follow the company’s statement in its 2025 results that transformation initiatives began to deliver benefits in the final quarter of that year, with clear milestones for 2026. Reported 2025 revenue was 4,030 million euros, down 2.7% from 2024, while merchant services revenue declined organically 1.4% to 3,238 million euros. Financial services revenue in 2025 was also affected by the termination of specific contracts, while card-issuing transaction processing remained stable.
The company reaffirmed its expectation that 2026 revenue growth would be stable to slightly positive on a like-for-like basis after disposals, and that adjusted EBITDA would range between 630 and 650 million euros. It also maintained its expectation for free cash flow of between negative 60 and 40 million euros. Worldline cut its revenue growth forecast in July from low-single-digit growth to stable or slightly positive, saying some banks had delayed awarding contracts. At the time, Vacheron said delays in contract-award decisions were linked to what the company went through in 2025. In a market reaction, MarketScreener reported that the shares rose 3.45% in after-hours trading following the results. Worldline set February 24, 2027, as the date for announcing its 2026 full-year results.