Today, Cardlink operates the largest card transaction acceptance network in Greece with over 267,000 POS and 25,000 e-Commerce businesses. It cooperates with all five systemic Banks and accepts all types of cards. Joining Worldline has empowered its positioning in the Greek market by accessing Worldline’s solutions and services, enabling Cardlink to deliver greater value to its merchants, make a difference and accomplish its vision to contributing to the growth of businesses by continuously enhancing the experience of merchants and consumers.

A significant year, as Cardlink becomes part of Worldline, leader in the payments and transactional services industry with a presence in more than 40 countries. Being part of a specialized provider, Cardlink’s position in Greece is strengthened and gains access to the global market, to leading technologies and products, as well as to Worldline’s know-how in the field of electronic payments.

During the period of 2016-2020, Cardlink made significant investments in both POS equipment and technology infrastructure to meet the demand and needs of the market.

During the implementation of the Eurobank and Alpha Bank network unification project, Cardlink demonstrated that it could do much more for the payment acceptance environment in Greece. Thus, in January 2015, Alpha Bank and Eurobank decided to sell Cardlink to Quest group and Edgepay Holdings.

Since Greece was far behind other European countries in adopting electronic transactions, the idea was the creation of a truly independent entity that could help banks and companies move faster towards convergence with other markets. The transfer of ownership of Cardlink in early 2015 marks the beginning of this period. From that point, the pace has accelerated.

The enforcement of Capital Controls in Greece in the summer of 2015, which reduced consumer access to cash combined with the legislative measures to provide incentives for using electronic transactions and the mandatory installation of POS for all business types and commercial shops in 2017, led to an explosive growth of demand for Cardlink’s services.

Cardlink was founded in 2004 by Alpha Bank and Eurobank. Cardlink’s goal was to create a common POS network that would assist in the development of electronic transactions in Greece. The network unification project started in 2011 and was completed by 2014 by installing more than 80.000 Cardlink POS.