Cardlink plays a crucial role in the digitalization of transactions and businesses, Finance Pro, June 2022

Finance Pro, June 2022

By GEORGE DIMOSTHENOUS

Cardlink plays a crucial role in the digitalization of transactions and businesses

Cardlink is a leader in the provision of payment services in Greece. It shapes developments in the field of electronic transactions and adopts modern technologies, offering appropriate solutions to cooperating companies.

Antigonos Papadopoulos, Cardlink CEO

Can you tell us a few things about Cardlink in terms of its position in the market?

We are the largest payment service provider in Greece with more than 290,000 POS terminals, 25,000 e-Commerce stores and over 450 million transactions per year. As of September 2021, Cardlink is a company of Worldline, the European market leader in payment and transaction management services.
We help businesses in their daily transactions with quality, security and speed. In recent years, we have significantly contributed to the digitalization of businesses through the payment solutions we offer both in physical and digital stores. The Cardlink team shapes developments in the field of electronic payments and adopts the latest technologies and services that continuously improve the transaction experience in physical stores and e-commerce.
In the last two years, we have launched the state-of-the-art Android POS terminals, offering even faster transactions, an upgraded image, but also the possibility for businesses through the Cardlink store to use different applications for their needs, such as the applications we have developed: Cardlink POSsible, Cardlink maitre and Cardlink smart, but also third-party applications: tax free, loyalty etc.
In addition, Cardlink participates as a supplier in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0”, which is expected to significantly strengthen the digitalization of small and medium-sized enterprises, which will be able to upgrade, via subsidies, their cash registers, electronic tax mechanisms and POS terminals.

Online transactions have been growing rapidly in recent years. Do you think this growth is due only to the pandemic or to other factors as well?

In general, there was an upward trend all the years both before and after the capital controls, however the pandemic helped even more in the shift towards cashless transactions. As a result, there was a significant increase in online transactions, absorbing the peculiar functioning of the market due to the measures to mitigate the pandemic. As we return to normalcy, the value of card transactions in Greek territory approached €45 billion in 2021.
The number of transactions also continues its upward trend, increasing by 26% in 2020 and 50% in the last three years. It is worth noting that Greek consumers contributed 86% to the consolidated turnover with Greek-issued cards.
In 2021, inbound tourism led to the increase in transactions that reached €6.5 billion, a value corresponding to 85% of the value of card transactions in 2019. However, fewer tourists used their cards more, having changed their behavior as well. In 2022, this limit is also expected to be exceeded, with tourism contributing even more to the value and number of card transactions.
It is worth mentioning that the pandemic was the “capital controls” of e-commerce, with the turnover increasing by 40% in 2020 and exceeding 6 billion.

Looking at the results of 2021 and the first months of 2022, what conclusion do you draw from the course of physical stores and e-commerce?

Despite the macroeconomic difficulties, card usage increased and the customer experience in physical and digital stores improved at all levels. The whole change in consumer behavior in relation to the use of electronic money is here to stay. People experienced the new situation, appreciated the benefits, understood the use, became familiar with it and there was a positive acceptance of the new experience.
So, in recent years, despite the difficulties, there has been a tremendous growth of electronic transactions, with 90% of them being carried out in a contactless manner. Over 5% of transactions started taking place with electronic wallets. In addition, we are noticing a change in mentality regarding microtransactions, and the taboo that prevailed when using a card for small amounts. Now cards are used for all transactions. From the data on the use of cards in the Cardlink network, we see that 39% of transactions concern microtransactions up to €10.

We are true to our purpose of offering solutions and being next to businesses, building long-term relationships of trust with them

What are the new trends in payments and what is the next day in this field?

The pandemic has already brought a new way of life, with electronic payments being part of everyday life. Anything that makes the customer experience “frictionless” and “effortless” will be at the forefront. Another trend that is coming to change everyday transactions is the interconnection of cash registers with terminals. We expect in the coming years, with the development of technology, an increase in wallet transactions, the adoption of more self-service cash registers, QR payments and an increase in account-to-account transactions. Even the way strong identification is done will bring more use of biometrics. The evolution of payments is changing our lifestyle, transactions and daily lives.

What is your opinion on the security of electronic transactions?

For the entire payment ecosystem, security is an absolute priority. It is provided for in PSD2 (Second European Payment Services Directive) according to which we are required to comply with high-level security regulations. Payments are secure and we minimize modern fraud risks by having certified PCI-DSS and 3D-Secure platforms, while strong identification is now applied to carry out transactions. When the customer of an e-shop arrives at the checkout to pay, the bank will identify them to verify the execution of a transaction, using for example a one-time password (OTP) via SMS/Viber, combined with Web Banking codes, or in combination with the use of the customer’s fingerprint in mobile banking. Thanks to Strong Authentication, both businesses and consumers can feel completely protected from fraud incidents.

What are your company’s future goals?

We are true to our purpose of offering solutions and being next to businesses, building long-term relationships of trust with them, in order to contribute to their development with innovative products and services that facilitate their daily lives and improve the experience of businesses and consumers.
We are excited that Cardlink, as a member of Worldline, the European market leader in payments and transaction management services, brings innovative solutions to the Greek market, but also contributes to a better payment world that inspires trust and is more sustainable for society and the environment.

Cardlink helps businesses in their daily transactions with quality, security and speed

Read the interview here.